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

Kisel, 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 Kisel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kisel in America

Kisel is the 67943rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kisel surname appeared 290 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 Kisel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kisel 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 Kisel

The surname Kisel is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Silesia, which is now located in southwestern Poland. The name likely dates back to the 13th or 14th century.

Kisel is derived from the German word "Kiesel," which means "pebble" or "gravel." It was likely originally a nickname or a descriptive name given to someone who lived near a gravel pit or a rocky area. Variations of the spelling include Kiesel, Kiesell, and Kiesele.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kisel can be found in the Silesian "Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis" (Book of the Foundations of the Bishopric of Breslau), which dates back to 1295. This document mentions a person named "Petrus Kiesel."

In the 16th century, a man named Hans Kisel (1520-1596) was a prominent Silesian nobleman and statesman who served as the governor of Silesia under the Habsburg rulers. He played a significant role in the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation in the region.

Another notable person with the surname Kisel was Johann Kisel (1677-1736), a German architect and builder who was active in the early 18th century. He is known for his work on the Zwinger Palace in Dresden, Germany.

In the 19th century, Carl Kisel (1815-1889) was a German engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of steam engines and locomotives.

One of the most famous people with the surname Kisel was the Polish-American writer and Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902-1991). Although his original surname was Zinger, he adopted the name Bashevis, which is derived from the Yiddish form of the surname Kisel.

While the surname Kisel has its origins in Germany and Silesia, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world due to migration and immigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kisel

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

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

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

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