2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Haensel
A German surname meaning "grassy place".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Haensel. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Haensel 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Haensel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Haensel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Haensel
The surname HAENSEL is of German origin, emerging in the late medieval period. It is derived from the German word "hänsel," which refers to a male proper name or diminutive form of Hans, itself a variant of Johannes. The name's earliest roots can be traced back to the Rhineland region of Germany, where it was initially concentrated.
Historical records indicate the name HAENSEL appearing in various German chronicles and municipal documents from the 14th century onwards. One notable reference is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, where a certain "Hänsel von Bernau" is mentioned in relation to land disputes in the year 1375.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname HAENSEL can be found in the town of Siegen, located in what is now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Church records from the 16th century list several individuals bearing this surname, such as Hans Haensel (born in 1543) and Catharina Haensel (born in 1567).
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who carried the HAENSEL surname. One such figure was Johann Gottfried Haensel (1719-1781), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. Another was Carl Wilhelm Haensel (1759-1819), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and professor of law in Halle and Leipzig.
In the realm of arts and literature, the name is associated with Karl Haensel (1825-1904), a German painter and engraver known for his landscapes and etchings. Additionally, Wilhelm Haensel (1835-1904) was a German poet and writer who gained recognition for his works in the Silesian dialect.
Moving into more recent history, Erich Haensel (1905-1986) was a German athlete who competed in the discus throw event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, where he won a silver medal.
It is worth noting that the surname HAENSEL has also seen variations in spelling over time, such as Hänsel, Hänssel, and Hensell, particularly in different regions of Germany. Additionally, the name has been associated with certain place names, such as the town of Hänsel in the district of Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haensel
Among Census respondents with the surname Haensel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Haensel 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 Haensel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Haensel
Haensel 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+10 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,041 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,540 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 1,041 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 1,540 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 Haensel 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 | #149,395 | #150,935 | -1.0% |
| Count | 110 | 108 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Haensel bearers went from 110 to 108 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 1,540 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #150,935.
FAQ
Haensel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Haensel?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Haensel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Haensel?
Haensel ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Haensel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Haensel.
Has Haensel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Haensel went from 110 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Haensel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Haensel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Haensel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Haensel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (4.6%), Black (0.9%). 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 Haensel (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 Haensel mean?
A German surname meaning "grassy place". 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 Haensel (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 Haensel?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.