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

Carell, 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 Carell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Carell in America

Carell is the 127494th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Carell surname appeared 134 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 Carell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Carell 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 Carell

The surname Carell is believed to have originated in France, specifically in the northern region of Normandy. It is thought to be derived from the Old French word "carel," which means "freeholder" or "farmer." The name likely emerged as a descriptive term for someone who owned or worked on a small freehold or farm.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Carell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property holders commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this historic document, there is a reference to a landowner named Robert Carel, who held lands in Essex, England.

During the Middle Ages, the name Carell appeared in various spellings, such as Carel, Carrel, and Carrell, reflecting the differences in local dialects and scribal variations. One notable bearer of the name was Jean Carrel, a French theologian and rector of the University of Paris, who lived in the late 14th century.

In the 16th century, the Carell family established roots in the French region of Normandy, where several members held prominent positions. For instance, Guillaume Carrel was a respected magistrate and judge in the city of Rouen during the mid-1500s.

As the centuries passed, the Carell surname spread across Europe, and different branches of the family emerged in various countries. In England, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the late 17th century, with the birth of William Carell in 1685 in Oxfordshire.

Another notable figure bearing the Carell surname was the French physician and physiologist René Alexis Carrel, who was born in 1873 in Lyon, France. He made significant contributions to the field of vascular surgery and tissue culture, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912.

In the 20th century, the name Carell gained further recognition with the American actor and comedian Steve Carell, who was born in 1962 in Concord, Massachusetts. He rose to fame for his roles in various television shows and movies, including "The Office," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and "Foxcatcher."

Other prominent individuals with the Carell surname include the French-American artist Alexandre Carell (1923-2023), known for his abstract expressionist paintings, and the British film producer and screenwriter Richard Carell (1951-), who has worked on several successful movies and television series.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Carell

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!