2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Frobel
A German surname denoting someone from the village of Frobel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Frobel. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frobel 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Frobel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frobel
The surname Frobel has its origins in Germany, dating back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "frobelen," which means "to rejoice" or "to be happy." The name may have initially been a nickname given to someone with a cheerful or joyful disposition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Frobel can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, from the 14th century. In these records, a certain Johann Frobel is mentioned as a merchant and landowner in the region.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Frobel surname appeared in various historical documents across different German states. In the city of Augsburg, a prominent family of bankers and merchants carried the Frobel name, with several members holding influential positions in the city's government and trade guilds.
The name Frobel has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. Friedrich Frobel, born in 1782 and died in 1852, was a German educator and the founder of the concept of kindergarten. His educational philosophy and methods had a significant impact on early childhood education worldwide.
Another famous bearer of the Frobel surname was Julius Frobel, a German geologist and mineralogist who lived from 1805 to 1893. He made significant contributions to the study of crystallography and the classification of minerals.
In the 19th century, a branch of the Frobel family immigrated to the United States, where they settled in various parts of the country. One notable descendant was Frank Frobel, born in 1865 in Ohio, who became a successful businessman and philanthropist.
The name Frobel has also been linked to several place names in Germany, such as Frobelsee, a lake in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and Frobelhöhe, a hill near the city of Chemnitz.
Throughout its history, the surname Frobel has been spelled in various ways, including Froebel, Frohbel, and Fröbel, reflecting regional dialect variations and spelling conventions of different time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frobel
Among Census respondents with the surname Frobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Frobel 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 Frobel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 106
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frobel
Frobel 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
+24 bearers (+22.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,529 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-23 bearers (-17.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,960 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | +24 bearers (+22.9%) | Up 13,529 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-17.8%) | Down 20,960 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 Frobel 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 | #131,379 | #152,339 | -16.0% |
| Count | 129 | 106 | -17.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frobel bearers went from 129 to 106 (-17.8% change). The surname moved down 20,960 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #152,339.
FAQ
Frobel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frobel?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Frobel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Frobel?
Frobel ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Frobel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Frobel.
Has Frobel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frobel went from 129 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 23 (-17.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Frobel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Frobel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frobel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Frobel (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 Frobel mean?
A German surname denoting someone from the village of Frobel. 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 Frobel (0.04 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 Frobel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.