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

Goettel, 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 Goettel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goettel in America

Goettel is the 40554th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goettel surname appeared 539 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 Goettel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goettel 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 Goettel

The surname Goettel is of German origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Gott" meaning God, and was likely originally a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who was deeply religious or worked in a religious profession.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the city of Bamberg in Bavaria, where a certain Conradus Goettel is mentioned in a document from 1389. Another early reference is to a Hermannus Goettel from Cologne, who is listed in a tax register from 1431.

In the 16th century, the name appears to have spread to other regions of Germany, with records showing individuals with the surname Goettel in places like Leipzig, Dresden, and Frankfurt. During this time, variations in spelling such as Göttel, Göttl, and Gottl also began to emerge.

One notable bearer of the name was Johann Gottfried Goettel, a German composer and organist who lived from 1668 to 1723. He served as the court organist in Weissenfels and composed numerous works for organ and harpsichord.

Another individual of historical significance was the philosopher and theologian Friedrich Wilhelm Goettel, who was born in 1776 in Saxony and died in 1859. He was a prominent figure in the German Idealist movement and wrote extensively on metaphysics and the philosophy of religion.

In the 19th century, the Goettel surname can be found in various regions of Germany, as well as in areas with significant German immigration, such as parts of the United States and Canada. One noteworthy individual from this period was the American businessman and philanthropist John Goettel, who was born in 1844 in Pennsylvania and made his fortune in the mining industry.

Moving into the 20th century, a notable bearer of the Goettel name was the German-American artist and illustrator Walter Goettel, who was born in 1896 and spent much of his career working for various publications and advertising agencies in New York City.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the German scientist and engineer Erich Goettel, who lived from 1908 to 1989 and made significant contributions to the field of aerospace engineering, working for companies like Messerschmitt and NASA.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goettel

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

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

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

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