Chappell last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Chappell

An occupational surname referring to a clergyman or someone who worked in a chapel.

Chappell, 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 Chappell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chappell in America

Chappell is the 1516th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chappell surname appeared 23,634 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Chappell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chappell 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 1516 1419 6.61%
Count 23,634 23,001 2.71%
Proportion per 100k 8.01 8.53 -6.29%

The history of the last name Chappell

The surname Chappell is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from various places named Chapel or Chapelle, which were named after chapels or small churches located in those areas. The name can be traced back to the Old French word "chapele," meaning a small church or sanctuary.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chappell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled as "Chapele." This historical record suggests that the name was already established in England by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Chapell, Chappell, and Chapelle, in records from counties like Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire. This indicates that the name was well-established in different regions of England during this period.

One notable individual bearing the surname Chappell was John Chappell (c. 1570-1647), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Surrey and wrote several religious works.

Another prominent figure was Edward Chappell (1659-1724), an English churchman and academic who served as the Bishop of Cork and Ross in Ireland. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1717 to 1718.

In the 18th century, William Chappell (1708-1791) was a renowned English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings, including the Shire Hall in Shrewsbury.

The 19th century saw the rise of William Chappell (1809-1888), an English writer and musician who made significant contributions to the study of English folk music and popularized the works of early English composers.

Another notable figure was Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey Chappell (1859-1935), a British civil engineer and academic who served as the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Bristol.

Throughout its history, the surname Chappell has been associated with various place names, such as Chappel in Essex, Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire, and Chapeltown in Yorkshire, among others. These place names reflect the locational origin of the surname and its connection to chapels or small churches.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chappell

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

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 Chappell was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 75.20% 17,773
Non-Hispanic Black Only 19.65% 4,644
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.54% 128
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.50% 118
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.17% 513
Hispanic Origin 1.95% 461

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 Chappell has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 75.20% 78.17% -3.87%
Black 19.65% 18.40% 6.57%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.54% 0.27% 66.67%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.50% 0.51% -1.98%
Two or More Races 2.17% 1.40% 43.14%
Hispanic 1.95% 1.24% 44.51%

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

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

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"Chappell last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 26, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/chappell-surname-popularity/.

"Chappell last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/chappell-surname-popularity/. Accessed 26 July, 2024

Chappell last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/chappell-surname-popularity/.

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