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

Kappell, 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 Kappell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kappell in America

Kappell is the 117480th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kappell surname appeared 148 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 Kappell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kappell 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 Kappell

The surname Kappell is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It likely originated in the region of Bavaria, Germany, where it was derived from the German word "Kapelle," meaning "chapel." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked at a chapel or small church.

One of the earliest known records of the name Kappell dates back to the 14th century, where it appears in a document from the town of Nuremberg, Germany. In this document, a man named Hans Kappell is mentioned as a local tradesman.

During the 16th century, the name Kappell appeared in various records across Germany, including church registers and tax records. Some examples include Johannes Kappell (born 1521) from Leipzig, and Matthias Kappell (born 1547) from Heidelberg.

In the 17th century, the name Kappell was also found in other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and trade. For instance, there are records of a Pieter Kappell (born 1612) living in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

One notable figure with the surname Kappell was Johann Abraham Kappell (1714-1794), a German composer and violinist who lived in Dessau, Germany, and worked as a court musician for the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau.

Another historically significant individual was Friedrich Kappell (1827-1902), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the former Berlin Stock Exchange.

In the late 19th century, the surname Kappell was also found in the United States, likely due to German immigration. One example is August Kappell (1845-1923), a German-American brewer and businessman who established the Kappell Brewery in New York City.

Other notable individuals with the surname Kappell include Walter Kappell (1938-1992), an Austrian actor and film director, and Erwin Kappell (1924-2010), a German writer and journalist who covered World War II.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kappell

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!