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

Hansel, 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 Hansel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hansel in America

Hansel is the 8622nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hansel surname appeared 3,815 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hansel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hansel 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 Hansel

The surname Hansel is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is a diminutive form of the German personal name Hans, which is a shortened version of Johannes, the German equivalent of the biblical name John. The suffix "-el" is a common diminutive ending in German names, indicating a smaller or more affectionate form.

The name Hansel is believed to have first emerged in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia in southern Germany, where it was widely used as a nickname or pet form of Hans. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hansel can be found in local parish records and town chronicles from the 14th and 15th centuries.

One notable early bearer of the name Hansel was Hansel Rebhuhn, a German mercenary who served in the armies of the Holy Roman Empire during the late 15th century. He is mentioned in several contemporary accounts of the Burgundian Wars between 1474 and 1477.

In the 16th century, the surname Hansel began to spread beyond its initial stronghold in southern Germany, appearing in records from other parts of the German-speaking world, such as the Low Countries and Switzerland. One example is Hansel Schmid, a Swiss clockmaker from Zurich who lived from 1522 to 1598.

As the Hansel surname spread, it also developed various regional spelling variations, such as Hänsel, Haensel, and Hensler. These variations often reflected local dialects and linguistic traditions.

In the 17th century, the name Hansel gained some literary prominence through the famous German folktale "Hansel and Gretel," which was first published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm. While the story's protagonists bear the traditional German names Hansel and Gretel, their surname is not specified.

Other notable individuals with the surname Hansel include Johann Hansel (1665-1726), a German Baroque composer and organist; Gottfried Hansel (1819-1902), a German-American journalist and author; and Hermann Hansel (1869-1941), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and rural scenes.

It's worth noting that while the surname Hansel is predominantly German in origin, it has also been adopted and adapted in other linguistic and cultural contexts over the centuries, reflecting the widespread influence of German immigration and cultural exchange.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hansel

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

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

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

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