2000
#7,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,912
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.45
Rare Last name
Kessel
A German toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a cauldron-shaped valley or hollow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,105 Americans carry the last name Kessel. That puts it at #8,787 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kessel 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 83,497
Census rank
#8,787
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,580 bearers of the surname Kessel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8787th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kessel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kessel
The surname Kessel originated in Germany and the Netherlands. It is derived from the Middle Low German word 'kessel', meaning a kettle or cauldron. The name likely referred to an occupation involving metalworking or perhaps a place where kettles or cauldrons were made or sold.
Kessel is an ancient surname dating back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the town of Gouda in the Netherlands, where a man named Wouter Willemszoon Kessel was mentioned in records from 1296. In Germany, the name appeared in various forms such as Kesseler, Kessler, and Kesselmann in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The Kessel name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Reinier Kessel, a Dutch Golden Age painter born in Amsterdam in 1623. He was known for his still life paintings and portraits. Another notable bearer of the name was Ferdinand Kessel, a German-born American architect who lived from 1835 to 1892 and designed several prominent buildings in New York City.
In the 20th century, the Kessel name gained prominence with Joseph Kessel, a French novelist and journalist born in 1898. He is best known for his novel 'The Lion' and his reportage from the Russian Revolution. Another noteworthy figure was Joseph Kessel Jr., an American film producer and screenwriter born in 1923, who worked on several notable films including 'The Wiz' and 'The Bionic Woman'.
One of the most famous individuals with the Kessel surname was Hans Kessel, a German artist and illustrator born in 1876. He is renowned for his illustrations in children's books and magazines, particularly his work for the German magazine 'Die Gartenlaube'. His intricate and whimsical illustrations have left a lasting impact on the world of children's literature.
While the Kessel name has its roots in Germany and the Netherlands, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with bearers of the name found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kessel
Among Census respondents with the surname Kessel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kessel 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 Kessel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 3,253
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 137
- Two or more races3.2% · 116
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 40
- Black or African American0.7% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kessel
Kessel 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
#6,777
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,976
+1,064 bearers (+27.2%)
Per 100,000 1.69
Rank movement Up 1,071 places
2020
#8,787
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,580
-1,396 bearers (-28.1%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 2,010 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,848 | 3,912 | 1.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,777 | 4,976 | 1.69 | +1,064 bearers (+27.2%) | Up 1,071 places |
| 2020 | #8,787 | 3,580 | 1.20 | -1,396 bearers (-28.1%) | Down 2,010 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 Kessel 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 | #6,777 | #8,787 | -29.7% |
| Count | 4,976 | 3,580 | -28.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.69 | 1.20 | -29.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kessel bearers went from 4,976 to 3,580 (-28.1% change). The surname moved down 2,010 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,777 to #8,787.
FAQ
Kessel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kessel?
Name Census estimates that about 4,105 living Americans carry the surname Kessel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,497 residents.
How common is Kessel?
Kessel ranks #8,787 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 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 3,580 people with the surname Kessel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,105), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 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 Kessel.
Has Kessel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kessel went from 4,976 recorded bearers to 3,580. That is a decrease of 1,396 (-28.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,777 to #8,787.
What does the Census say about the background of Kessel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kessel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Kessel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (3,253 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kessel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Kessel (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 Kessel mean?
A German toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a cauldron-shaped valley or hollow. 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 Kessel (1.20 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 Kessel?
Want to know how many people have the surname Kessel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.