2010
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Duevel
A German surname meaning "devil" or "little devil".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Duevel. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Duevel 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Duevel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Duevel, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Duevel
The surname Duevel is believed to have originated in Germany. It is a variant spelling of the German word "Teufel," which means "devil" or "demon." The name likely referred to someone with a fiery temper or a mischievous personality, characteristics that were once associated with the devil in European folklore.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Duevel can be found in the Stadtbücher (city books) of Cologne, Germany, dating back to the 14th century. These records mention a certain Johann Duevel, a merchant who lived in the city around the year 1380.
In the 15th century, a German military leader named Friedrich Duevel is mentioned in chronicles as having fought against the Hussites, a pre-Protestant Christian movement, during the Hussite Wars. Friedrich Duevel was born around 1390 and died in battle in 1434.
The Duevel surname also appears in several religious texts and church records from the late medieval period in Germany. For instance, a priest named Konrad Duevel is listed in the parish registers of the town of Marburg in the year 1512.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it also took on various spellings and derivatives, such as Teufel, Teuferl, and Teufelchen. These variants often reflected local dialects and pronunciations.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Hans Duevel (1487-1538) was a German painter and engraver who worked in Nuremberg. His artwork was heavily influenced by the Renaissance style and often depicted religious themes.
During the 17th century, a German scholar and theologian named Johann Duevel (1629-1697) made significant contributions to the study of ancient languages and Biblical texts. He authored several works on Hebrew and Greek grammar, which were widely used in academic circles at the time.
As the Duevel surname spread beyond Germany, it also found its way into other European countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, where it was occasionally spelled as Deuvel or Devel.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duevel
Among Census respondents with the surname Duevel, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Duevel 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 Duevel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Duevel
Duevel appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 361 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 361 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 Duevel 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 | #143,149 | #142,788 | 0.3% |
| Count | 116 | 119 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Duevel bearers went from 116 to 119 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 361 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #142,788.
FAQ
Duevel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Duevel?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Duevel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Duevel?
Duevel ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Duevel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Duevel.
Has Duevel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Duevel went from 116 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 3 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #143,149 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Duevel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Duevel, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Duevel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Duevel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Duevel (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 Duevel mean?
A German surname meaning "devil" or "little devil". 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 Duevel (0.04 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 Duevel?
See how many people have the last name Duevel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.