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

Gawel, 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 Gawel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gawel in America

Gawel is the 24914th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gawel surname appeared 998 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 Gawel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gawel 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 Gawel

The surname GAWEL is of Polish origin, traced back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "gawell," meaning a hill or a small mountain. This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or on a hill.

Early records indicate that the name was prevalent in the regions of Silesia and Lesser Poland, particularly in the areas around Krakow and Katowice. The earliest known spelling variations include Gawel, Gawela, and Gawell.

One of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the "Akta Grodzkie i Ziemskie" (District and Land Records) from the late 15th century, which mentions a certain Jan Gawel from the village of Zwierzyniec near Krakow.

In the 16th century, a prominent figure bearing this surname was Jan Gawel (c. 1500-1572), a Polish nobleman and landowner in the region of Lesser Poland. He is noted for his involvement in the Polish Reformation and his support for the Protestant movement.

Another notable individual with this surname was Piotr Gawel (1809-1888), a Polish artist and painter renowned for his landscapes and portraits. He was born in the village of Klecza Dolna and studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow.

In the 19th century, the name appears in the records of the Prussian province of Silesia, where Franciszek Gawel (1823-1901) was a prominent educator and advocate for Polish language and culture in the region.

Towards the end of the 19th century, Józef Gawel (1851-1920) was a Polish writer and journalist who played a significant role in the cultural and literary life of Krakow. He was a member of the Krakow Literary Society and contributed to various publications.

Another figure worth mentioning is Wojciech Gawel (1892-1970), a Polish military officer who served in the Polish Legions during World War I and later in the Polish Army during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gawel

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

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

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

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