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

Koehl, 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 Koehl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Koehl in America

Koehl is the 17823rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Koehl surname appeared 1,570 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 Koehl.

We can also compare 2010 data for Koehl 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 Koehl

The surname Koehl is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "Kuole," which means "cool" or "cold." It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, in the regions of central and southern Germany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae," a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, where a person named "Heinrich Koehl" is mentioned in a document dated 1348.

In the 15th century, the name appears in the town records of Nuremberg, where a family by the name of Koehl is listed as residing in the city. This suggests that the name had spread to other parts of Germany by that time.

The name Koehl is also linked to various place names in Germany, such as Koehlberg (meaning "cool mountain") and Koehlbruck (meaning "cool bridge"), indicating that some families may have adopted the name based on their place of residence or origin.

One notable bearer of the name was Johann Koehl (1590-1667), a German composer and organist who served as the court musician for the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in the early 17th century.

Another prominent figure with the surname Koehl was Wilhelm Koehl (1820-1895), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) in the late 19th century.

In the 18th century, the name Koehl appears in the records of the German settlements in Pennsylvania, USA, suggesting that some families with this surname migrated to the Americas during that period.

One such individual was Johann Koehl (1735-1812), a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania and fought in the American Revolutionary War as part of the Pennsylvania Militia.

Another notable bearer of the name was Friedrich Koehl (1771-1848), a German-born American farmer and businessman who established one of the first breweries in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

While the surname Koehl is not among the most common in Germany or other parts of the world, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including musicians, politicians, soldiers, and entrepreneurs.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Koehl

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

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

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

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