2000
#11,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,602
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Mikell
Anglicized form of a German or Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from a diminutive of Michael, meaning "Who is like God?"
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,002 Americans carry the last name Mikell. That puts it at #11,499 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,175 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mikell 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
3.0K
1 in 114,175
Census rank
#11,499
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,618 bearers of the surname Mikell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11499th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mikell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.5%. The next largest groups are White (40.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mikell
The surname Mikell has its origins in Scotland, where it first emerged in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English name Michael, which itself comes from the Hebrew name Mikhael, meaning "who is like God." The name was brought to Scotland by Norman settlers, and over time it evolved into various spellings such as Mikell, Mickell, and Mikhail.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Mikell name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the year 1264, where a person named Nigel Mikell is mentioned. This indicates that the name was well-established in Scotland by the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in several historical documents, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded the names of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. One of the individuals listed is Robert Mikell, a landowner from Ayrshire.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Mikell family held lands in various parts of Scotland, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Renfrewshire. In the 16th century, a prominent member of the family was John Mikell, who served as a magistrate in the town of Ayr.
In the 17th century, the Mikell name began to spread beyond Scotland, as several members of the family emigrated to Ireland and England. One notable figure from this period was Sir William Mikell, who was born in Ayrshire in 1605 and later became a successful merchant in London.
In the 18th century, the Mikell family continued to play a role in Scottish society, with several members holding positions of prominence. One such individual was Alexander Mikell, who was born in 1720 and served as a member of the Scottish Parliament.
As the British Empire expanded, the Mikell name also found its way to other parts of the world. In the 19th century, John Mikell, a Scottish-born merchant, settled in Charleston, South Carolina, and established a successful trading business. Another notable figure was Sir James Mikell, who was born in Edinburgh in 1818 and became a renowned explorer and naturalist, contributing significantly to the study of flora and fauna in various parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mikell
Among Census respondents with the surname Mikell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.5%. The next largest groups are White (40.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Mikell 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 Mikell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.5% · 1,348
- White40.9% · 1,072
- Two or more races4.0% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mikell
Mikell 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
#10,525
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,048
+446 bearers (+17.1%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 654 places
2020
#11,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,618
-430 bearers (-14.1%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 974 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,179 | 2,602 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,525 | 3,048 | 1.03 | +446 bearers (+17.1%) | Up 654 places |
| 2020 | #11,499 | 2,618 | 0.88 | -430 bearers (-14.1%) | Down 974 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 Mikell 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 | #10,525 | #11,499 | -9.3% |
| Count | 3,048 | 2,618 | -14.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 0.88 | -15.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mikell bearers went from 3,048 to 2,618 (-14.1% change). The surname moved down 974 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,525 to #11,499.
FAQ
Mikell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mikell?
Name Census estimates that about 3,002 living Americans carry the surname Mikell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,175 residents.
How common is Mikell?
Mikell ranks #11,499 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,618 people with the surname Mikell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,002), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mikell.
Has Mikell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mikell went from 3,048 recorded bearers to 2,618. That is a decrease of 430 (-14.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,525 to #11,499.
What does the Census say about the background of Mikell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mikell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.5%. The next largest groups are White (40.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mikell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.5% (1,348 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mikell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (51.5%), White (40.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Mikell (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 Mikell mean?
Anglicized form of a German or Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from a diminutive of Michael, meaning "Who is like God?" 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 Mikell (0.88 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 Americans have the surname Mikell?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.