2000
#114,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Aeppli
Derived from a diminutive form of the personal name Appel, which is of Germanic origin meaning "apple."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 144 Americans carry the last name Aeppli. That puts it at #137,553 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,380,238 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aeppli surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
144
1 in 2,380,238
Census rank
#137,553
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
126
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 126 bearers of the surname Aeppli in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 137553rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aeppli, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aeppli
The surname AEPPLI originated in Switzerland and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the German word "Apfel," meaning apple, and is thought to have been initially used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near an apple orchard or worked as an apple farmer.
The earliest recorded instance of the name AEPPLI can be found in a Swiss census record from 1276, where it is spelled "Aepfli." This spelling variation was common in the early days of the name's usage, as standardized spellings were not yet established.
In the 14th century, the name AEPPLI appeared in several legal documents and property records in the Swiss cantons of Bern and Zurich. One notable example is a land deed from 1382 involving a person named Hans Aeppli, who purchased a parcel of land near the town of Thun.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the AEPPLI name spread to other parts of Switzerland and neighboring regions of Germany and Austria. Several individuals bearing the name achieved prominence during this time, including Johann Aeppli (1499-1564), a renowned clockmaker from Zurich, and Hans Rudolf Aeppli (1566-1637), a respected theologian and author from Basel.
In the 17th century, the AEPPLI name made its way to the New World, with several members of the family emigrating to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Jacob Aeppli, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1683 and later settled in the town of Germantown.
Other notable individuals with the AEPPLI surname include:
1. Eduard Aeppli (1859-1938), a Swiss-American artist and painter known for his landscape paintings of the American West.
2. August Aeppli (1877-1956), a Swiss mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry.
3. Paul Aeppli (1901-1989), a Swiss-American physicist and researcher who worked on the development of radar technology during World War II.
4. Ernst Aeppli (1923-2017), a Swiss-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Aeppli Foundation, which supports educational and cultural initiatives.
5. Margrit Aeppli (born 1940), a Swiss artist and sculptor known for her abstract metal sculptures and public art installations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aeppli
Among Census respondents with the surname Aeppli, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Aeppli bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Aeppli surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 4
- Two or more races2.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aeppli
Aeppli appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
-4 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 10,382 places
2020
#137,553
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
-12 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,005 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,166 | 142 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | -4 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 10,382 places |
| 2020 | #137,553 | 126 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 13,005 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Aeppli surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #124,548 | #137,553 | -10.4% |
| Count | 138 | 126 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -15.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aeppli bearers went from 138 to 126 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 13,005 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #137,553.
FAQ
Aeppli surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aeppli?
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the surname Aeppli. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,380,238 residents.
How common is Aeppli?
Aeppli ranks #137,553 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 126 people with the surname Aeppli. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (144), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Aeppli.
Has Aeppli become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aeppli went from 138 recorded bearers to 126. That is a decrease of 12 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #137,553.
What does the Census say about the background of Aeppli?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aeppli, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Aeppli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (119 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aeppli appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Aeppli (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Aeppli mean?
Derived from a diminutive form of the personal name Appel, which is of Germanic origin meaning "apple." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Aeppli (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Aeppli?
Want to know how many people have the surname Aeppli? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.