2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Dremel
A surname derived from a German occupational name referring to a turner or lathe worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Dremel. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dremel 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Dremel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dremel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dremel
The surname Dremel is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "dremel," which means "to turn or spin" and was likely an occupational name for a turner or someone who worked with a lathe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dremel can be found in the church records of the town of Wittenberg, Germany, where a Johann Dremel was born in 1612. Another early record is from the town of Nuremberg, where a Hans Dremel was listed as a member of the local turner's guild in 1638.
In the 18th century, the name Dremel began to appear in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Westphalia. One notable Dremel from this time period was Johann Friedrich Dremel (1713-1783), a master turner and craftsman who was renowned for his intricate woodcarvings and lathe work.
As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the 19th century, many Dremel families migrated to cities and urban centers in search of work. One example is Gustav Dremel (1824-1895), a skilled machinist who worked in the factories of Berlin and was instrumental in developing early lathes and metalworking tools.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several members of the Dremel family emigrated from Germany to the United States and other parts of the world. One such individual was Albert Dremel (1870-1942), who settled in Wisconsin and became a successful tool manufacturer, establishing the Dremel Company in 1932, which is still known today for its high-quality rotary tools and accessories.
Other notable individuals with the Dremel surname include: Gerhard Dremel (1925-2012), a German engineer and inventor who held numerous patents for automotive technologies; Johanna Dremel (1899-1988), a German artist and sculptor known for her intricate wood carvings; and Klaus Dremel (born 1948), a German businessman and former CEO of the Dremel Corporation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dremel
Among Census respondents with the surname Dremel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dremel 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 Dremel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 93
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dremel
Dremel 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+5 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,251 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-28 bearers (-22.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 22,957 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 4,251 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -28 bearers (-22.0%) | Down 22,957 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 Dremel 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 | #133,048 | #156,005 | -17.3% |
| Count | 127 | 99 | -22.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dremel bearers went from 127 to 99 (-22.0% change). The surname moved down 22,957 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #156,005.
FAQ
Dremel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dremel?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Dremel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Dremel?
Dremel ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Dremel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Dremel.
Has Dremel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dremel went from 127 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 28 (-22.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Dremel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dremel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Dremel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dremel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Dremel (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 Dremel mean?
A surname derived from a German occupational name referring to a turner or lathe worker. 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 Dremel (0.03 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 have the last name Dremel?
See how many people have the surname Dremel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.