2000
#9,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,030
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Engels
A patronymic surname of German origin meaning "son of Engel", derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "angel".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,481 Americans carry the last name Engels. That puts it at #10,117 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,464 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Engels 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
3.5K
1 in 98,464
Census rank
#10,117
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,036 bearers of the surname Engels in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10117th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Engels, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Engels
The surname Engels is of Germanic origin and is believed to have originated in the region of Westphalia in present-day Germany during the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old German word "engil," which means "angel" or "messenger of God." It was likely originally given as a descriptive name to someone who was considered to have angelic qualities or who worked as a messenger or courier.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Engels can be traced back to the 13th century, with references found in various medieval manuscripts and records from the region. One notable early mention is in the Codex Diplomaticus Westphaliae, a collection of historical documents from Westphalia, where a certain Johannes Engels is mentioned in a land deed from the year 1287.
In the late 14th century, the name Engels appears in the records of the city of Münster in Westphalia, with a certain Henricus Engels being listed as a member of the town council in 1392. This suggests that the name had already become established among the local gentry and upper classes by that time.
Over the centuries, the name Engels has been associated with several notable individuals, including Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), the German philosopher, political theorist, and co-founder of Marxist theory alongside Karl Marx. Other notable figures with this surname include:
1. Johann Engelbert Engels (1741-1805), a German painter and engraver known for his landscapes and still-life works.
2. Johann Jakob Engels (1767-1828), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other German cities.
3. Friedrich Wilhelm Engels (1796-1878), a German military officer and writer who served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars.
4. Hermann Engels (1822-1909), a German industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Engels Chemical Works in Chemnitz, Saxony.
5. Ewald Friedrich Graf von Engels (1891-1917), a German World War I fighter pilot and recipient of the prestigious Pour le Mérite military honor.
While the name Engels has its roots in the Westphalian region of Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by migration and the movement of people over the centuries. However, its origins can be traced back to the Old German word "engil" and its association with the concept of angelic or divine messengers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Engels
Among Census respondents with the surname Engels, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Engels 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 Engels surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 2,847
- Two or more races2.5% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 24
- Black or African American0.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Engels
Engels 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
#10,026
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,213
+183 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 187 places
2020
#10,117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,036
-177 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 91 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,839 | 3,030 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,026 | 3,213 | 1.09 | +183 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 187 places |
| 2020 | #10,117 | 3,036 | 1.02 | -177 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 91 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 Engels 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 | #10,026 | #10,117 | -0.9% |
| Count | 3,213 | 3,036 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.02 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Engels bearers went from 3,213 to 3,036 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 91 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,026 to #10,117.
FAQ
Engels surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Engels?
Name Census estimates that about 3,481 living Americans carry the surname Engels. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,464 residents.
How common is Engels?
Engels ranks #10,117 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 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 3,036 people with the surname Engels. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,481), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 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 Engels.
Has Engels become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Engels went from 3,213 recorded bearers to 3,036. That is a decrease of 177 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,026 to #10,117.
What does the Census say about the background of Engels?
Among Census respondents with the surname Engels, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Engels in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (2,847 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Engels appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Engels (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 Engels mean?
A patronymic surname of German origin meaning "son of Engel", derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "angel". 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 Engels (1.02 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 surname Engels?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.