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

Etzel, 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 Etzel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Etzel in America

Etzel is the 16457th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Etzel surname appeared 1,747 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Etzel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Etzel 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 Etzel

The surname Etzel originated in Germany, with records suggesting its earliest use dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "etzil," meaning noble or respected. The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Etzel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a certain "Heinricus Etzel" is mentioned in a record from 1187. This suggests that the name was in use among the noble classes during the High Middle Ages.

The Etzel name also appears in several other medieval records, such as the Urkundenbuch des Hochstifts Halberstadt, a collection of documents from the Bishopric of Halberstadt, where a "Conradus Etzel" is mentioned in 1298. This indicates the name's spread across different regions of what is now modern-day Germany.

In the 16th century, the Etzel surname gained further prominence with the birth of Andreas Etzel (c. 1510-1578), a German Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and participated in important theological debates of the time.

Another notable individual with the Etzel surname was Johann Etzel (1583-1652), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Weimar. His compositions, particularly his sacred works, were highly regarded during his lifetime.

In the 18th century, Johann Georg Etzel (1688-1747) was a respected German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and professor of law at the University of Göttingen. His writings on legal theory and practice were influential in the development of German jurisprudence.

The Etzel name has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Etzelbach, a small town in Bavaria, and Etzelsbach, a river in Baden-Württemberg. These place names likely derived from the same linguistic roots as the surname, further reinforcing its German origins.

While the Etzel surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, the historical records and notable individuals mentioned above provide insights into the surname's rich heritage and its connections to the cultural and intellectual history of Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Etzel

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

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

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

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