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

Menzel, 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 Menzel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Menzel in America

Menzel is the 12199th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Menzel surname appeared 2,553 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 Menzel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Menzel 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 Menzel

The surname Menzel has its origins in the German language and dates back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the German word "menzel," which referred to a small, detached building or hut, often used as a shelter or storage space. This connection suggests that the name may have initially been used to identify individuals who lived or worked in such structures.

The Menzel name first emerged in various regions of present-day Germany, particularly in areas like Saxony, Brandenburg, and Silesia. Early records show various spelling variations, such as Mentzel, Mentzell, and Mentzelmann, reflecting the regional dialects and adaptations of the name over time.

One of the earliest known references to the Menzel name can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae," a collection of historical documents from the 13th century, where a certain "Heinricus Menzel" is mentioned in a land transaction in the town of Meissen in 1287.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Menzel surname. One prominent figure was Gerhard Menzel (1594-1661), a German jurist and philosopher who served as a legal advisor to the Elector of Brandenburg and authored several influential works on natural law and political philosophy.

Another Menzel of note was Adolph von Menzel (1815-1905), a renowned German artist and illustrator known for his highly detailed paintings and etchings depicting scenes from Prussian history and daily life. His works, such as "The Iron Rolling Mill" and "The Flute Concert," are considered masterpieces of 19th-century German art.

In the realm of science, Rudolf Menzel (1879-1957) was a German astronomer and astrophysicist who made significant contributions to the study of stellar atmospheres and the development of quantitative spectroscopy. His work helped advance our understanding of the physical properties and chemical compositions of stars.

The Menzel name also gained recognition in the field of literature with Wolfgang Menzel (1798-1873), a German literary critic and historian who wrote extensively on German literature and culture, including his influential work "The History of German Poetry" (Die Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung).

Finally, mention should be made of Karl Menzel (1881-1954), a German architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the reconstruction and redesign of several German cities, including Frankfurt and Mainz, in the aftermath of World War II.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Menzel

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

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

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