Curnel last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Curnel

A surname potentially derived from an archaic French word for "little horn".

Curnel, 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 Curnel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Curnel in America

Curnel is the 122314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Curnel surname appeared 141 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 Curnel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Curnel 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 122314 144908 -16.91%
Count 141 105 29.27%
Proportion per 100k 0.05 0.04 22.22%

The history of the last name Curnel

The surname CURNEL originated in England during the late medieval period, likely deriving from the Old French word "corneille" meaning "crow." This suggests the name may have initially been a nickname for someone with dark hair or complexion resembling a crow's feathers.

Records indicate the earliest known bearer of this surname was a certain John Curnel, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1196. This suggests the name was already established in parts of central England by the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the name CURNEL appeared in various spellings, such as Corneille, Cornill, and Cornhyll, reflecting its French origins and the variations in pronunciation and spelling common during that era.

The CURNEL surname is also linked to several place names in England, such as Cornhill in London and Cornhill-on-Tweed in Northumberland, further indicating its prevalence in different regions of the country.

Notable historical figures bearing this surname include Sir Thomas Curnel (c.1350-1415), a member of Parliament and landowner in Oxfordshire; William Curnel (1567-1628), an English clergyman and author; and Richard Curnel (1663-1732), a prominent merchant and Member of Parliament for Bristol.

Other well-known individuals with the CURNEL surname include:

  1. Robert Curnel (c.1280-1355), an English landowner and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
  2. John Curnel (c.1410-1490), a wealthy wool merchant and benefactor of New College, Oxford.
  3. Elizabeth Curnel (1570-1647), an English gentlewoman known for her diary documenting daily life in Elizabethan England.
  4. Sir Nathaniel Curnel (1642-1719), a British naval officer and Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis.
  5. Henry Curnel (1758-1825), an English artist and engraver known for his landscape paintings and etchings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Curnel

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

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 Curnel was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 92.91% 131
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 3.55% 5
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 92.91% 98.10% -5.43%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 3.55% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% 0.00% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Curnel last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 2, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/curnel-surname-popularity/.

"Curnel last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/curnel-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 August, 2025

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

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