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

Hammel, 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 Hammel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hammel in America

Hammel is the 6583rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hammel surname appeared 5,146 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Hammel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hammel 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 Hammel

The surname Hammel is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "hamal," meaning "a wether" or a castrated ram. It likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who worked with or kept sheep, or potentially as a reference to a person's physical characteristics.

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Hammel, Hamel, and Hameln in various German regions during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Heinrich Hammel, a landowner mentioned in a 14th-century document from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria.

The Hammel surname has also been associated with several place names, such as Hameln, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, known for the legend of the Pied Piper. The town's name is derived from the same root as the surname, further reinforcing its connection to sheep-related occupations or characteristics.

During the 16th century, the name was found in various German records, including those of Johannes Hammel, a merchant from Nuremberg, who lived from 1520 to 1587. Another notable bearer was Johann Matthäus Hammel, a German composer and organist born in 1737 in Weiden, Bavaria.

In the 19th century, the Hammel surname gained more prominence with individuals like Wilhelm Hammel, a German painter born in 1812 in Trier, and Karl Hammel, a German-American soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War, born in 1824 in Bavaria.

As German immigrants settled in other countries, the Hammel surname spread to various regions. One example is John Michael Hammel, an early American settler born in 1730 in Germany, who later lived in Pennsylvania and played a role in the Revolutionary War.

While the surname Hammel is not among the most common in the world, it has a rich historical lineage rooted in German culture and occupations related to sheep and livestock. Its enduring presence across centuries and various bearers reflects its significance as a surname with a distinctive origin and meaning.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hammel

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

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

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

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