2000
#5,209
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,161
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.28
Rare Last name
Mitchel
A variant of Mitchell, an occupational surname for a person who was a big man or brave warrior.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,675 Americans carry the last name Mitchel. That puts it at #7,805 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,316 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mitchel 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mitchel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 73,316
Census rank
#7,805
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,077 bearers of the surname Mitchel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7805th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mitchel, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (6.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mitchel
The surname Mitchel derives from the medieval English given name Michael, which in turn comes from the Hebrew name Mikhael, meaning "who is like God?". It is believed to have originated in England, where it first appeared as Michel in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest.
In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled Michell, Mitchill, or Mitchel, with the latter spelling becoming more prevalent over time. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Michel in Somerset.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mitchel was particularly common in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. This is evidenced by various historical records, such as the Pipe Rolls of 1166, which mention a William Michell from Lincolnshire.
As the name spread across Britain, it also took on various localized spellings and forms, such as Michell in the north of England and Mitchill in Scotland. These variations often reflected local dialects and pronunciation patterns.
Notable individuals with the surname Mitchel throughout history include John Mitchel (1815-1875), an Irish nationalist and political journalist who was a leader of the Young Ireland movement. Another prominent figure was Sir Andrew Mitchel (1457-1528), a Scottish landowner and military commander who served as Lord Chancellor of Scotland under King James IV.
Other historical figures bearing the name include:
- Samuel Augustus Mitchel (1805-1861), an American astronomer and lawyer.
- Maria Mitchel (1818-1889), an American astronomer and educator, the first American woman to work as a professional astronomer.
- John Mitchel (1733-1818), an Irish Presbyterian minister and philosopher.
- Sir John Mitchel (1690-1768), a British diplomat and politician who served as Ambassador to Prussia.
The Mitchel surname has also been associated with various place names over the centuries, such as Mitcheldean in Gloucestershire and Mitchelmersh in Hampshire, both of which likely derived from individuals bearing the name who lived in or owned land in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mitchel
Among Census respondents with the surname Mitchel, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (6.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mitchel 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 Mitchel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.3% · 2,376
- Black or African American28.4% · 1,157
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 260
- Two or more races4.7% · 191
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mitchel
Mitchel 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
#6,151
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,570
-591 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 1.89
Rank movement Down 942 places
2020
#7,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,077
-1,493 bearers (-26.8%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Down 1,654 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,209 | 6,161 | 2.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,151 | 5,570 | 1.89 | -591 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 942 places |
| 2020 | #7,805 | 4,077 | 1.36 | -1,493 bearers (-26.8%) | Down 1,654 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 Mitchel 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 | #6,151 | #7,805 | -26.9% |
| Count | 5,570 | 4,077 | -26.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.89 | 1.36 | -27.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mitchel bearers went from 5,570 to 4,077 (-26.8% change). The surname moved down 1,654 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,151 to #7,805.
FAQ
Mitchel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mitchel?
Name Census estimates that about 4,675 living Americans carry the surname Mitchel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,316 residents.
How common is Mitchel?
Mitchel ranks #7,805 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.36 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 4,077 people with the surname Mitchel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,675), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.36 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 Mitchel.
Has Mitchel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mitchel went from 5,570 recorded bearers to 4,077. That is a decrease of 1,493 (-26.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,151 to #7,805.
What does the Census say about the background of Mitchel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mitchel, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Mitchel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.3% (2,376 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mitchel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.3%), Black (28.4%), Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Mitchel (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 Mitchel mean?
A variant of Mitchell, an occupational surname for a person who was a big man or brave warrior. 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 Mitchel (1.36 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 Mitchel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.