2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Buschel
A surname derived from the German word "busch" meaning bush or shrub, possibly denoting someone who lived near bushes or woodlands.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Buschel. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buschel 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Buschel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buschel, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buschel
The surname Buschel is of German origin, originating in the region of Westphalia and the Rhineland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Middle Low German word "büschel," which means "bundle" or "sheaf," referring to a bundle of straw or grain.
The name likely originated as a descriptive surname, given to someone who worked with bundles of grain or straw, such as a farmer or a thatcher. It may have also been an occupational surname for someone who made or sold bundles of straw or grain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Buschel can be found in the Liber Census Daniae, a Danish census record from 1510, which lists a Hans Buschel residing in the town of Flensburg.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name appeared in various records across Germany and the Netherlands. For example, a Johann Buschel was born in Cologne in 1587, and a Gerrit Buschel was a merchant in Amsterdam in the 1620s.
During the 18th century, the Buschel family spread across Europe, with members settling in various regions. One notable figure was Johann Buschel (1718-1792), a German clockmaker and inventor from Nuremberg, who developed several improvements to the design of clocks and watches.
In the 19th century, members of the Buschel family began to emigrate to other parts of the world. Karl Buschel (1837-1912) was a German-born artist who settled in the United States and became known for his landscape paintings of the American West.
Another significant figure was Wilhelm Buschel (1865-1944), a German-born engineer who played a crucial role in the construction of the Panama Canal. He oversaw the design and installation of the canal's lock system, which was a major engineering feat at the time.
As the Buschel family spread across different countries, the surname underwent various spelling variations, such as Büschel, Buschell, and Büschell, reflecting regional linguistic differences and adaptations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buschel
Among Census respondents with the surname Buschel, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Buschel 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 Buschel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buschel
Buschel 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-10 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 20,451 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+8 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,569 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 20,451 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.8%) | Up 8,569 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 Buschel 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 | #157,234 | #148,665 | 5.4% |
| Count | 103 | 111 | 7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 23.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buschel bearers went from 103 to 111 (+7.8% change). The surname moved up 8,569 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #148,665.
FAQ
Buschel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buschel?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Buschel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Buschel?
Buschel ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Buschel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Buschel.
Has Buschel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buschel went from 103 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 8 (+7.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Buschel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buschel, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Buschel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buschel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Buschel (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 Buschel mean?
A surname derived from the German word "busch" meaning bush or shrub, possibly denoting someone who lived near bushes or woodlands. 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 Buschel (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 share the surname Buschel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.