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

Kimmel, 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 Kimmel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kimmel in America

Kimmel is the 3396th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kimmel surname appeared 10,528 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Kimmel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kimmel 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 Kimmel

The surname Kimmel has its origins in Germany and is derived from the German word "Kummel," which means "cumin" or "caraway seed." It likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who grew or traded in these spices.

The name Kimmel can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. Early records show variations in spelling, such as Kümmel, Kummel, and Kümmel, reflecting the local dialects and scribal practices of the time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kimmel dates back to 1297 in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a merchant named Heinrich Kimmel is mentioned in a trade document. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 13th century.

In the 15th century, the name appears in the Nuremberg Hausbücher, a register of households and citizens, indicating the presence of Kimmel families in this influential city of the Holy Roman Empire.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Kimmel was found in various parts of Germany, including records from Saxony, Thuringia, and Hesse. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Kimmel (1570-1632), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saalfeld, Thuringia.

As the name spread throughout Germany, it also became associated with certain place names, such as Kümmelberg (meaning "cumin hill") in Bavaria and Kümmelshausen (meaning "cumin village") in Württemberg.

Other notable individuals with the surname Kimmel include Friedrich Kimmel (1778-1846), a German writer and poet from Leipzig, and Wilhelm Kimmel (1855-1923), a German-American architect and builder who designed several iconic buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In the 20th century, the name gained wider recognition with the American television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, born in 1967 in Brooklyn, New York.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kimmel

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

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

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

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