2000
#12,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,377
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Duell
A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived near a tower or derived from the French word "duelle" meaning "quarrel."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,535 Americans carry the last name Duell. That puts it at #13,234 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,209 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Duell 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Duell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 135,209
Census rank
#13,234
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,211 bearers of the surname Duell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13234th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Duell, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Duell
The surname Duell has its origins in the German states, emerging sometime in the late medieval period around the 14th or 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "duellen", which means "to endure" or "to suffer". The name may have been given to someone who had endured hardship or adversity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the historical records of the city of Frankfurt am Main, where a certain Johannes Duell was mentioned in a document from 1492. The name also appears in various church records and tax rolls from that era in other parts of Germany.
In the 16th century, the surname Duell began to spread beyond the German states. In England, a variant spelling, "Duell", can be found in parish records from the late 1500s, likely brought over by German immigrants or settlers. One notable bearer of this name was Sir Thomas Duell (1615-1687), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Great Marlow.
The name Duell has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. In the 18th century, a French military officer named Jean-Baptiste Duell (1726-1807) served in the Seven Years' War and later became a general under Napoleon Bonaparte. Another bearer of the name was the German-American painter and lithographer, Louis Duell (1816-1886), who was known for his landscape paintings of the American West.
In the 19th century, the name Duell gained prominence in the literary world with the British author and critic, Prentice Duell (1839-1902), who wrote extensively on poetry and literature. Around the same time, a German-American industrialist named Otto Duell (1848-1920) made his mark in the manufacturing sector, founding the Duell Manufacturing Company in Chicago.
One of the most famous bearers of the surname Duell was the American actor and comedian, Charles Duell (1899-1986), who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the 20th century. He is perhaps best known for his role as the character Uncle Charlie in the popular sitcom "My Three Sons".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duell
Among Census respondents with the surname Duell, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Duell 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 Duell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 1,962
- Black or African American5.8% · 129
- Two or more races2.7% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Duell
Duell 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
#12,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,451
+74 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 580 places
2020
#13,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,211
-240 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 607 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,047 | 2,377 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,627 | 2,451 | 0.83 | +74 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 580 places |
| 2020 | #13,234 | 2,211 | 0.74 | -240 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 607 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 Duell 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 | #12,627 | #13,234 | -4.8% |
| Count | 2,451 | 2,211 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.74 | -10.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Duell bearers went from 2,451 to 2,211 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 607 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,627 to #13,234.
FAQ
Duell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Duell?
Name Census estimates that about 2,535 living Americans carry the surname Duell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,209 residents.
How common is Duell?
Duell ranks #13,234 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,211 people with the surname Duell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,535), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Duell.
Has Duell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Duell went from 2,451 recorded bearers to 2,211. That is a decrease of 240 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,627 to #13,234.
What does the Census say about the background of Duell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Duell, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Duell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (1,962 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Duell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Black (5.8%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Duell (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 Duell mean?
A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived near a tower or derived from the French word "duelle" meaning "quarrel." 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 Duell (0.74 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 Duell?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.