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

Emanuel, 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 Emanuel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Emanuel in America

Emanuel is the 5340th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Emanuel surname appeared 6,517 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Emanuel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Emanuel 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 Emanuel

The surname Emanuel has its origins in the Hebrew language and can be traced back to ancient Israel. It is derived from the Hebrew phrase "Immanu El," which translates to "God is with us." The name gained popularity during the time of the Old Testament and was often given to children as a symbol of faith and devotion to God.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Emanuel can be found in the Bible itself. In the Book of Isaiah, a prophecy is made about the birth of a child who would be called "Immanuel," a name that holds significant religious meaning for both Jews and Christians.

As the Jewish diaspora spread across Europe during the Middle Ages, the surname Emanuel became more widespread. It was commonly found in communities across Spain, Portugal, and Italy, where variations like Emanuelis and Emmanuele were also used.

In the 13th century, the name appears in various historical documents, including the Chartulary of Monreale in Sicily, where a certain Iohannes Emanuelis is mentioned. Additionally, the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.

Notable individuals with the surname Emanuel throughout history include:

1. Judah Emanuel (1285-1349), a renowned Jewish philosopher and Talmudic scholar from Catalonia, Spain.
2. Emanuel Tremellius (1510-1580), an Italian Renaissance scholar and one of the first non-Jewish translators of the Bible into Latin from the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts.
3. Emanuel da Costa (1717-1791), a Dutch-Portuguese philosopher and influential figure in the European Enlightenment movement.
4. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish philosopher, mystic, and scientist who is best known for his spiritual writings and the formation of the Swedenborgian branch of Christianity.
5. Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868), a German-American painter known for his iconic work "Washington Crossing the Delaware," which depicts a pivotal moment in the American Revolutionary War.

The surname Emanuel has maintained its popularity and can be found in various cultures and communities around the world, serving as a testament to its rich historical and religious heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Emanuel

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!