2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Merchel
A surname derived from an occupational term for a merchant or trader.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Merchel. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Merchel 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Merchel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Merchel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Merchel
The surname Merchel originates from the German state of Bavaria, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "merchen," which means "boundary" or "border." This suggests that the name may have been given to families living near the borders of certain regions or towns.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Merchel name can be found in the parish records of the town of Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Bavaria, in the year 1598. Here, a man named Hans Merchel is listed as a resident. It is possible that the name was already established in this area before this date, as record-keeping during that time was not always consistent.
In the 17th century, the Merchel name appears in several documents related to land ownership and taxation in the Bavarian town of Rieden. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Merchel, a farmer born in 1624, and his son, Michael Merchel, born in 1658.
The 18th century saw the Merchel family spreading out to other parts of Germany, with records showing individuals with this surname living in regions such as Saxony and Thuringia. One notable figure was Johannes Merchel, a merchant from Leipzig who was born in 1712 and died in 1784.
In the 19th century, the Merchel name gained broader recognition with the birth of Wilhelm Merchel, a German painter and artist who lived from 1828 to 1901. His works were exhibited in several galleries across Europe, and he is considered a significant figure in the Düsseldorf School of Painting.
Another notable individual from this period was Carl Merchel, a German chemist and industrialist born in 1858. He is credited with developing several innovative processes in the chemical industry and played a crucial role in the growth of the chemical sector in Germany during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It is important to note that while these are some of the more prominent individuals with the Merchel surname throughout history, the name has been carried by many more families and individuals across various regions of Germany and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merchel
Among Census respondents with the surname Merchel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Merchel 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 Merchel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 4
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Merchel
Merchel appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+8 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,986 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.8%) | Up 8,986 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 Merchel 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 | #158,432 | #149,446 | 5.7% |
| Count | 102 | 110 | 7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Merchel bearers went from 102 to 110 (+7.8% change). The surname moved up 8,986 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #149,446.
FAQ
Merchel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Merchel?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Merchel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Merchel?
Merchel ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Merchel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Merchel.
Has Merchel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Merchel went from 102 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 8 (+7.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Merchel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Merchel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Merchel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Merchel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Merchel (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 Merchel mean?
A surname derived from an occupational term for a merchant or trader. 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 Merchel (0.04 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 share the surname Merchel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.