2000
#3,340
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,813
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.64
Uncommon Last name
Kimmel
Derived from a German nickname meaning "champion" or "contestant," likely referring to a brave or fierce warrior.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,683 Americans carry the last name Kimmel. That puts it at #3,710 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,084 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kimmel 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
11K
1 in 32,084
Census rank
#3,710
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.3K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,316 bearers of the surname Kimmel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3710th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimmel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kimmel
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimmel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kimmel 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 Kimmel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 8,644
- Two or more races3.2% · 296
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 244
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 44
- Black or African American0.3% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kimmel
Kimmel 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
#3,396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,528
+715 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 3.57
Rank movement Down 56 places
2020
#3,710
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,316
-1,212 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 3.12
Rank movement Down 314 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,340 | 9,813 | 3.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,396 | 10,528 | 3.57 | +715 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 56 places |
| 2020 | #3,710 | 9,316 | 3.12 | -1,212 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 314 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 Kimmel 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 | #3,396 | #3,710 | -9.2% |
| Count | 10,528 | 9,316 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.57 | 3.12 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kimmel bearers went from 10,528 to 9,316 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 314 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,396 to #3,710.
FAQ
Kimmel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kimmel?
Name Census estimates that about 10,683 living Americans carry the surname Kimmel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,084 residents.
How common is Kimmel?
Kimmel ranks #3,710 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,316 people with the surname Kimmel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,683), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Kimmel.
Has Kimmel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kimmel went from 10,528 recorded bearers to 9,316. That is a decrease of 1,212 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,396 to #3,710.
What does the Census say about the background of Kimmel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimmel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Kimmel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (8,644 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kimmel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Kimmel (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 Kimmel mean?
Derived from a German nickname meaning "champion" or "contestant," likely referring to a brave or fierce warrior. 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 Kimmel (3.12 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 Kimmel?
If you just want to know how common the surname Kimmel is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.