2000
#96,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 176
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Fiesel
A German surname derived from the pet name "Fiesel" meaning "small person".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 248 Americans carry the last name Fiesel. That puts it at #91,558 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,382,074 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fiesel 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
248
1 in 1,382,074
Census rank
#91,558
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
216
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 216 bearers of the surname Fiesel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 91558th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fiesel, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fiesel
The surname Fiesel is of German origin, first appearing in records from the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "vitzil", meaning "a small whip or scourge". This suggests the name may have originally referred to an occupation or trade related to whip-making or an association with a disciplinary role involving whips.
The earliest known record of the name Fiesel dates back to 1548 in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in the Franconia region of modern-day Bavaria, Germany. The name is also found in various forms of spelling in historical documents, including Fitzel, Fietzel, and Fietsel.
In the late 16th century, a man named Hans Fiesel was recorded as a master whip-maker in the city of Nuremberg, further reinforcing the connection between the name and the whip-making trade. Another notable early bearer of the name was Johann Fiesel, a Lutheran theologian and writer who lived from 1572 to 1638 in the town of Memmingen, in the Swabian region of southern Germany.
The Fiesel surname can also be found in various place names across Germany, such as Fieselerbach, a small village in the state of Hesse, and Fieselau, a district in the town of Muggendorf in Bavaria. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the Fiesel name who settled in or were associated with these locations.
In the 18th century, a notable figure with the Fiesel name was Johann Gottlieb Fiesel, a German painter and engraver who was born in 1720 in the town of Bamberg, Bavaria. His works were widely admired and can be found in several art collections across Europe.
Another prominent individual with the Fiesel surname was Carl Wilhelm Fiesel, a German-American farmer and politician who lived from 1830 to 1903. He emigrated to the United States in 1848 and settled in Illinois, where he became involved in local politics and served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fiesel
Among Census respondents with the surname Fiesel, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Fiesel 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 Fiesel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.4% · 191
- Two or more races5.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fiesel
Fiesel 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
-38 bearers (-21.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 28,515 places
2020
#91,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 216
+78 bearers (+56.5%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 32,990 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #96,033 | 176 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | -38 bearers (-21.6%) | Down 28,515 places |
| 2020 | #91,558 | 216 | 0.07 | +78 bearers (+56.5%) | Up 32,990 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 Fiesel 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 | #124,548 | #91,558 | 26.5% |
| Count | 138 | 216 | 56.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.07 | 44.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fiesel bearers went from 138 to 216 (+56.5% change). The surname moved up 32,990 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #91,558.
FAQ
Fiesel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fiesel?
Name Census estimates that about 248 living Americans carry the surname Fiesel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,382,074 residents.
How common is Fiesel?
Fiesel ranks #91,558 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 216 people with the surname Fiesel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (248), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Fiesel.
Has Fiesel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fiesel went from 138 recorded bearers to 216. That is an increase of 78 (+56.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #124,548 to #91,558.
What does the Census say about the background of Fiesel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fiesel, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Fiesel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (191 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fiesel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.4%), Two or More Races (5.6%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Fiesel (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 Fiesel mean?
A German surname derived from the pet name "Fiesel" meaning "small person". 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 Fiesel (0.07 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 Fiesel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.