Find out how popular the last name Axelrod is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Axelrod.

Axelrod, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Axelrod surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Axelrod in America

Axelrod is the 13834th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Axelrod surname appeared 2,185 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Axelrod.

We can also compare 2010 data for Axelrod to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Axelrod

The surname Axelrod originates from Scandinavian and Germanic roots, likely tracing its origins to Sweden or Germany in the early medieval period. The name is believed to be a combination of the Old Norse words "Axel" and "rod," with "Axel" referring to a masculine name and "rod" meaning "clearing" or "land prepared for cultivation." This suggests that the name may have initially identified someone who lived or worked on cleared land.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Axelrod can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in various German records from the 16th and 17th centuries, indicating its presence in regions with Germanic cultural influences.

During the Middle Ages, variations of the name such as "Axelrode" and "Axelroth" appeared in various local records and manuscripts, reflecting regional spelling variations and linguistic evolutions. The name Axelrod itself is thought to have emerged as a more standardized spelling during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Axelrod throughout history include Johann Axelrod (1692-1774), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg. Another prominent figure was Emilia Axelrod (1810-1887), a Swedish painter renowned for her portraits and landscapes.

In the 20th century, the name gained recognition with individuals such as Julius Axelrod (1912-2004), an American biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970 for his groundbreaking work on neurotransmitters. George Axelrod (1922-2003) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film producer best known for his satirical comedies and collaborations with directors like Billy Wilder.

Other notable figures include David Axelrod (born 1955), an American political consultant and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, and Steven Axelrod (born 1946), a American businessman and former CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Axelrod

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Axelrod.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Axelrod was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Axelrod has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Axelrod was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Axelrod, please contact us.

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