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

Nagel, 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 Nagel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nagel in America

Nagel is the 2480th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nagel surname appeared 14,545 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Nagel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nagel 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 Nagel

The surname Nagel originates from Germany, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle Low German word "nagel," which means "nail." This word likely referred to a person's occupation as a nail maker or someone who worked with nails.

The name Nagel was initially concentrated in the regions of northern and central Germany, particularly in areas such as Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Brandenburg. Early records show variations in spelling, including Naghel, Naegel, and Negele.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nagel can be found in a manuscript from the city of Lübeck, dated 1292, which mentions a person named Henricus Nagel. Another early reference is from the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, where a Conradus Nagel is mentioned in an entry from 1375.

In the 15th century, the name Nagel appeared in the town records of Halle, a city in the modern-day state of Saxony-Anhalt. These records include entries for individuals such as Hans Nagel (born around 1420) and Nickel Nagel (born around 1450).

Notable historical figures with the surname Nagel include Johann Andreas Nagel (1710-1788), a German philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Halle. Another prominent figure was Moritz Nagel (1836-1916), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the former Reichsbank building.

Other individuals with the surname Nagel include Georg Konrad Nagel (1668-1744), a German composer and organist; Johann Andreas Michael Nagel (1710-1788), a German botanist and physician; and Karl Wilhelm Nagel (1783-1850), a German landscape painter and etcher.

The name Nagel has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Nageldorf (a village in Lower Saxony), Nagelsmühle (a former mill in Saxony-Anhalt), and Nagelstedt (a municipality in Thuringia).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nagel

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

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

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

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