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

Els, 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 Els surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Els in America

Els is the 56444th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Els surname appeared 362 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 Els.

We can also compare 2010 data for Els 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.

The history of the last name Els

The surname Els has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch word "els" meaning alder tree, suggesting that the name may have been initially adopted by someone who lived near an alder grove or worked with alder wood.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Els surname can be found in the Dutch baptismal records from the city of Haarlem in 1587, where a certain Cornelia Els is mentioned. The name also appears in various other historical documents from the Netherlands, such as the 1622 census records of Amsterdam, where a family with the surname Els was listed.

In the 17th century, the Els surname spread beyond the borders of the Netherlands, with some bearers of the name migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the New World. For instance, a man named Johannes Els was documented as having settled in the Swedish colony of New Sweden (present-day Delaware) in the 1640s.

Over the centuries, the Els surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Nicolaas Els, a Dutch painter who lived from 1648 to 1693 and was known for his landscape and genre paintings. Another notable bearer of the name was Erven Hendrik Els, a Dutch architect and civil engineer who designed several important buildings in Amsterdam in the late 19th century.

In the 20th century, the Els surname gained international recognition through the professional golfer Ernie Els, who was born in South Africa in 1969. He has won numerous major championships and is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of his generation.

Other notable individuals with the Els surname include the Dutch composer and organist Jan Els (1919-1992), the South African cricketer Jonathan Els (born 1982), and the Dutch politician Arie Els (born 1971).

While the Els surname may have originated from a humble reference to alder trees, it has since become a name with a rich history and global reach, carried by individuals from various walks of life across multiple continents.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Els

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

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 Els was:

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

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

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

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