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

Niemelä, 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 Niemelä surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Niemelä in America

Niemelä is the 28809th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Niemelä surname appeared 826 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Niemelä.

We can also compare 2010 data for Niemelä 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 Niemelä

The surname Niemela is of Finnish origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Finnish word "niemi," meaning "cape" or "headland," and the suffix "-la," which indicates a place of origin. Therefore, the name likely originated from a specific location with a prominent cape or headland.

The earliest recorded instances of the Niemela surname can be found in Finnish parish records from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. These records often included variations in spelling, such as Niemela, Niemele, and Niemelä, reflecting the regional dialects and the evolving standardization of Finnish orthography.

One of the earliest known individuals with the Niemela surname was Pekka Niemela, a farmer who lived in the village of Niemi in southwestern Finland during the mid-17th century. His name is documented in the parish records of Kalvola, which was part of the Swedish realm at the time.

Another notable figure was Jaakko Niemela, a Finnish soldier who fought in the Finnish War against Russia in 1808-1809. He was born in 1785 in Lapua, a town in western Finland, and served in the Swedish-Finnish army during the conflict.

In the 19th century, the Niemela surname became more widespread as Finnish families migrated to different parts of the country and even abroad. One such individual was Antti Niemela, a Finnish immigrant to the United States who settled in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the late 1800s. He worked as a lumberjack and was among the early Finnish settlers in the region.

During the 20th century, the Niemela name gained recognition through various notable individuals. One example is Tuure Niemela, a Finnish architect and designer who was born in 1891 and is known for his work in the Scandinavian modernist style.

Another prominent figure was Tauno Niemela, a Finnish cross-country skier who competed in the 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the 4x10 km relay event in 1956.

While these examples illustrate the historical presence of the Niemela surname, it is important to note that the name has become more widely distributed in recent times, reflecting the mobility and migration patterns of Finnish families across the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Niemelä

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

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

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

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