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

Bechtel, 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 Bechtel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bechtel in America

Bechtel is the 5137th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bechtel surname appeared 6,813 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Bechtel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bechtel 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 Bechtel

The surname Bechtel is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "bach" meaning "stream" or "brook". It is believed to have originated in the 12th century as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a stream or small river.

The name Bechtel is first recorded in medieval records from the region of Swabia in southwestern Germany, where the earliest known bearers of the name can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the town of Ravensburg, where a certain Heinricus Bechtel is mentioned in a document from 1295.

During the Middle Ages, the name Bechtel also appeared in various old manuscripts and records from other parts of southern Germany, such as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. In some instances, the name was spelled differently, such as "Bechtel", "Bechtil", or "Bechtold".

While there are no notable historical figures bearing the surname Bechtel in medieval times, the name began to gain prominence in the early modern period. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Bechtel (1555-1619), a German theologian and writer from Nuremberg.

Another notable figure was Georg Bechtel (1638-1700), a German architect and master builder who worked on several important projects in the city of Ulm, including the famous Ulm Minster. His son, Johann Georg Bechtel (1673-1743), followed in his footsteps and became a respected architect in his own right.

In the 18th century, the name Bechtel can be found in various records from the German-speaking regions of Europe, including the Palatinate and Alsace. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Johann Philipp Bechtel (1725-1800), a German composer and organist who worked in Mannheim and Strasbourg.

As the surname Bechtel spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world through emigration. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America is that of Johann Bechtel (1687-1773), a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 18th century.

Another notable figure with the Bechtel surname was Stephen Douty Bechtel (1900-1989), an American engineer and construction executive who founded the Bechtel Corporation, one of the largest construction and engineering companies in the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bechtel

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

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 Bechtel 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 Bechtel 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 Bechtel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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