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

Kiesel, 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 Kiesel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kiesel in America

Kiesel is the 10924th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kiesel surname appeared 2,913 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 Kiesel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kiesel 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 Kiesel

The surname "Kiesel" is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "kisel," meaning "pebble" or "gravel." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a gravel pit or worked with pebbles or gravel in some capacity.

The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 13th century, where it appears in various forms such as "Kisel," "Kysel," and "Kiesel" in historical documents from regions like Bavaria and Saxony. These variations in spelling were common during that time period, as standardized spellings were not yet established.

In the 14th century, the name "Kiesel" is found in the records of the city of Nürnberg, where a certain "Hans Kiesel" is mentioned as a citizen. This suggests that the name had already spread and gained some prominence in urban areas by that time.

One notable historical figure bearing the surname "Kiesel" was Johann Kiesel, a German composer and organist who lived in the 16th century (c. 1530-1588). He is known for his contributions to the development of Protestant church music during the Reformation era.

Another significant person with this surname was Johann Philipp Kiesel (1671-1754), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Giessen. He published several works on theology, philosophy, and metaphysics during his lifetime.

In the 18th century, the name "Kiesel" is recorded in the town of Gräfenhausen, where a family by the name of Kiesel owned a farm and vineyard. This suggests that the name had also become associated with agricultural pursuits in some regions.

One of the earliest known instances of the name in the United States is that of Johann Michael Kiesel, who immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in the 1740s. He was among the first wave of German settlers in the colony, and his descendants continued to use the surname in subsequent generations.

Throughout its history, the surname "Kiesel" has also been associated with various place names, such as Kieselhausen (a village in Baden-Württemberg), Kieselbach (a river in Saxony), and Kieselburg (a castle ruin in Rhineland-Palatinate). These place names likely originated from the same root word and may have influenced the development of the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kiesel

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kiesel, 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!