Find out how popular the last name Behel is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Behel.
A variant spelling of the German surname Behl, denoting someone from Behl, Germany.
Behel, 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 Behel surname is from the 2010 census data.
Behel is the 54178th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Behel surname appeared 381 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Behel.
We can also compare 2010 data for Behel 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 54178 | 52077 | 3.95% |
| Count | 381 | 375 | 1.59% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.13 | 0.14 | -7.41% |
The surname BEHEL is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the late 16th century. It is derived from the Old German word "behel," which means "shelter" or "refuge." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a shelter or a place of refuge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Bamberg, in the northern part of Bavaria, Germany. In a church record from 1597, there is a mention of a Johannes Behel, who was a local landowner and farmer.
As the name spread across different regions of Germany, it underwent several spelling variations, such as Behl, Behehl, and Behele. These variations were likely influenced by local dialects and the way the name was pronounced in different areas.
In the 17th century, the name BEHEL appeared in several historical documents, including tax records and land deeds. One notable mention is in the records of the city of Cologne, where a merchant named Hans Behel is listed as a member of the local guild in 1632.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, as migration patterns increased, the name BEHEL started to appear in other parts of Europe and eventually made its way to the Americas. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the United States is that of Johann Behel, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname BEHEL. One such person was Friedrich Behel (1795-1868), a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Rhineland region.
Another prominent figure was Karl Behel (1854-1920), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the field of literature, there was Erich Behel (1890-1957), a German poet and writer who was part of the Expressionist movement in the early 20th century.
The name BEHEL was also found in the military records of several European countries. For example, Hans Behel (1876-1916) was a German officer who fought in World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross for his bravery.
Finally, one of the most recent notable figures with the surname BEHEL was Gerhard Behel (1919-2003), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who founded a successful manufacturing company in the United States after immigrating in the 1940s.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Behel.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Behel was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 93.18% | 355 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 3.15% | 12 |
| Hispanic Origin | 1.57% | 6 |
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 Behel has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 93.18% | 94.13% | -1.01% |
| Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | 1.60% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | 3.15% | 2.40% | 27.03% |
| Hispanic | 1.57% | 1.60% | -1.89% |
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 Behel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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