2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Duewel
A German surname derived from a word meaning "evil" or "devil".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Duewel. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Duewel 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Duewel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Duewel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Duewel
The surname DUEWEL is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period around the 14th century. It is thought to have derived from the Middle High German word "duvel", meaning "devil" or "demon". This name was likely given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone with a fiery temperament or mischievous personality.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the town records of Nürnberg, Germany, where a "Hans Duewel" was listed as a resident in 1389. The name appears to have spread to other regions of Germany and neighboring areas over the following centuries.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of this name was Christoph Duewel (1523-1584), a Lutheran theologian and writer from Saxony. He authored several works on religious doctrine and participated in the debates surrounding the Reformation.
Another early example is Johann Duewel (1597-1659), a German composer and organist from Saxony. He was known for his contributions to sacred music and worked as the court organist for the Elector of Saxony.
In the 18th century, a Duewel family was recorded as living in the town of Metzingen, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. This may have been related to the earlier spelling variation "Düwel", which was more common in that region.
A notable figure from the 19th century was the German-American artist Carl Duewel (1844-1922), who immigrated to the United States and became known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West.
Other notable bearers of this surname include the German writer and philosopher Hermann Duewel (1887-1945), who wrote extensively on existentialism and phenomenology, and the Austrian physicist Erwin Duewel (1914-1992), who made contributions to the field of nuclear physics.
While the surname DUEWEL is relatively uncommon today, its origins can be traced back to medieval Germany, where it likely began as a descriptive nickname before becoming an established family name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duewel
Among Census respondents with the surname Duewel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Duewel 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 Duewel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Duewel
Duewel 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+13 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,591 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,218 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 3,591 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 10,218 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 Duewel 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 | #139,228 | #149,446 | -7.3% |
| Count | 120 | 110 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Duewel bearers went from 120 to 110 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 10,218 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #149,446.
FAQ
Duewel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Duewel?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Duewel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Duewel?
Duewel ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Duewel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Duewel.
Has Duewel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Duewel went from 120 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Duewel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Duewel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Duewel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Duewel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Duewel (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 Duewel mean?
A German surname derived from a word meaning "evil" or "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 Duewel (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 Americans have the surname Duewel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.