2000
#8,231
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,704
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.37
Rare Last name
Hansel
Derived from a shortened form of the Germanic name Johannes, meaning "God is gracious."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,085 Americans carry the last name Hansel. That puts it at #8,830 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,906 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hansel 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
4.1K
1 in 83,906
Census rank
#8,830
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,562 bearers of the surname Hansel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8830th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hansel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hansel
Among Census respondents with the surname Hansel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hansel 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 Hansel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 3,218
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 126
- Black or African American2.7% · 96
- Two or more races2.4% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hansel
Hansel 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
#8,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,815
+111 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 391 places
2020
#8,830
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,562
-253 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 208 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,231 | 3,704 | 1.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,622 | 3,815 | 1.29 | +111 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 391 places |
| 2020 | #8,830 | 3,562 | 1.19 | -253 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 208 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 Hansel 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 | #8,622 | #8,830 | -2.4% |
| Count | 3,815 | 3,562 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.29 | 1.19 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hansel bearers went from 3,815 to 3,562 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 208 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,622 to #8,830.
FAQ
Hansel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hansel?
Name Census estimates that about 4,085 living Americans carry the surname Hansel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,906 residents.
How common is Hansel?
Hansel ranks #8,830 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,562 people with the surname Hansel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,085), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hansel.
Has Hansel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hansel went from 3,815 recorded bearers to 3,562. That is a decrease of 253 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,622 to #8,830.
What does the Census say about the background of Hansel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hansel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Hansel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (3,218 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hansel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (3.5%), Black (2.7%). 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 Hansel (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 Hansel mean?
Derived from a shortened form of the Germanic name Johannes, meaning "God is gracious." 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 Hansel (1.19 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 people have the last name Hansel?
See how many Americans have the surname Hansel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.