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

Novel, 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 Novel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Novel in America

Novel is the 62189th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Novel surname appeared 322 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 Novel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Novel 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 Novel

The surname NOVEL is believed to have originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "novel," meaning "new" or "recent." This suggests that the name may have originally been given as a descriptive nickname or occupational name to someone who was new to a particular area or who was involved in a new or innovative profession.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the NOVEL surname can be found in the 13th century French manuscript, the "Roles de l'Échiquier de Normandie." This document mentions a person named "Jehan Novel" living in the Normandy region of France during that time.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various French records, including the "Registres de la Paroisse de Saint-Étienne de Caen," which lists a "Richart Novel" who was born in Caen, a city in northwestern France, around 1320.

The NOVEL surname is also associated with several place names in France, such as the village of Novelle in the Pas-de-Calais region, and the commune of Nouvelles in the Ardennes department. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in different regions.

One notable figure with the NOVEL surname was Jean-Baptiste Novel (1697-1768), a French Jesuit priest and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of calculus and differential equations.

Another prominent person with this name was Jean-Claude Novel (1726-1800), a French architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Théâtre des Variétés.

In the 19th century, a French military officer named Jean-Baptiste Novel (1790-1861) served in Napoleon's army and participated in various campaigns across Europe.

The NOVEL surname also spread beyond France, as evidenced by the English writer and philosopher, William Novel (1792-1835), who was born in London and wrote extensively on social and political issues.

Lastly, a notable American figure with the NOVEL surname was John Novel (1856-1925), a businessman and philanthropist from Philadelphia, who founded the Novel Foundation, which supported educational and charitable initiatives.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Novel

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

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

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

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