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

Frenkel, 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 Frenkel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Frenkel in America

Frenkel is the 23485th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Frenkel surname appeared 1,082 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 Frenkel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Frenkel 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 Frenkel

The surname Frenkel originated from the Ashkenazi Jewish communities in central and eastern Europe. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Frenkel," which means "Frankish" or "Free." This name was likely given to Jews who had been emancipated or granted certain freedoms, distinguishing them from their counterparts who were still under restrictive laws and regulations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Frenkel can be traced back to the 16th century in Poland. In 1567, a document from the town of Cracow mentioned a Jewish resident named Mordechai Frenkel. This suggests that the name had already been in use among the Jewish population in that region during that time period.

In the 17th century, the Frenkel surname was also documented in German records. In 1654, a man named Isaac Frenkel was listed as a taxpayer in the city of Frankfurt am Main. This provides evidence that the name had spread to other areas of central Europe by that point.

During the 18th century, the Frenkel name appeared in various historical records across Europe. In 1734, a man named Leib Frenkel was mentioned in a document from the town of Brody, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (modern-day Ukraine). Additionally, in 1765, a Jewish scholar named Yitzchak Frenkel was born in the town of Vilnius, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (modern-day Lithuania).

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Frenkel was Hillel Frenkel, a prominent Talmudic scholar who lived in the 18th century. He was born in 1721 in the town of Zolkiev, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (modern-day Ukraine). Hillel Frenkel authored several influential works on Jewish law and philosophy, and his writings were widely studied in Jewish communities across Europe.

Another significant figure with the surname Frenkel was Yakov Frenkel, a Russian physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to the field of solid-state physics. He was born in 1894 in Kazatin, which was then part of the Russian Empire (modern-day Ukraine), and died in 1952 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia.

In the 20th century, the Frenkel name gained further prominence with individuals like Viktor Frenkel, a Soviet mathematician and physicist born in 1924 in Leningrad. He made significant contributions to the field of solid-state physics and was elected as a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Another notable individual with the Frenkel surname was Herman Frenkel, a South African businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1886 to 1957. He was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Cape Town and actively supported various charitable organizations and causes.

Lastly, Yakov Frenkel, a Russian-American theoretical chemist and physicist, was born in 1920 in Baku, Azerbaijan (then part of the Soviet Union). He made significant contributions to the field of chemical physics and was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Frenkel

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

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

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

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