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

Norvell, 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 Norvell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Norvell in America

Norvell is the 8817th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Norvell surname appeared 3,713 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Norvell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Norvell 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 Norvell

The surname Norvell has its origins in the Old Norse language and is derived from the words "nordr" meaning "north" and "vollr" meaning "field" or "meadow". This suggests that the name likely originated in one of the Scandinavian countries, such as Norway, Sweden, or Denmark.

The earliest known records of the Norvell name can be traced back to the 11th century in Norway, where it was spelled "Nordvoll". It is believed that the name referred to someone who lived in a northern field or meadow, possibly a landowner or farmer.

In the 13th century, variations of the name began appearing in historical records across Scandinavia, such as "Nordvoll", "Nordvelle", and "Nordvelle". These variations were likely due to regional dialects and spelling differences at the time.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Norvell was Thorvald Norvell, a Norwegian nobleman and landowner who lived in the late 12th century. His name was documented in a land deed from the year 1187.

In the 14th century, the Norvell name began to spread to other parts of Europe, particularly through trade and migration. One notable individual from this period was Reinhard Norvell, a German merchant from Hamburg who was involved in the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading alliance in northern Europe. He was born around 1325.

As the name continued to evolve, it took on different spellings in different regions. In England, for instance, it was sometimes spelled "Norville" or "Norreville". One example is Sir John Norville, an English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War during the late 14th century.

In Scotland, the name was sometimes spelled "Norvill" or "Norvell". One notable Scot with this surname was Robert Norvill, a nobleman and landowner who lived in the 15th century and was involved in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.

As the surname spread across Europe and eventually to the Americas, it continued to undergo various spelling changes. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Norvell spelling in America was William Norvell, an English colonist who settled in Virginia in the late 17th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Norvell

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!