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

Ortel, 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 Ortel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ortel in America

Ortel is the 62531st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ortel surname appeared 320 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 Ortel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ortel 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 Ortel

The surname ORTEL originates from Germany, emerging during the late medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "Ort," meaning "place" or "location," suggesting that the name may have been initially associated with a specific place or region.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the ORTEL surname can be found in the Deutsches Familiennamen-Archiv (German Family Name Archive), which documents historical records of German surnames. The name appears in various spellings, including Ortel, Ortell, and Ortelle, indicating regional variations in its written form.

In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the ORTEL surname was Abraham Ortelius, a renowned cartographer and geographer born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1527. Ortelius is credited with creating the first modern atlas, titled "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" (Theatre of the World), which was published in 1570 and is considered a significant contribution to the field of cartography.

Another historical figure with the ORTEL surname was Johann Georg Ortel, a German composer and organist born in 1701. He was known for his compositions for the organ and his contributions to the development of church music in Germany during the 18th century.

In the 19th century, Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ortel, a German historian and educator, made significant contributions to the study of ancient history. He was born in 1788 and published several works on the history of ancient civilizations, including Greece and Rome.

The ORTEL surname can also be traced to the United States, where it was brought by German immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. One notable American with this surname was William Ortel, a businessman and entrepreneur born in 1865 in Pennsylvania. He founded the Ortel Manufacturing Company, which produced industrial machinery and equipment.

While the exact origins of the ORTEL surname remain uncertain, its historical roots can be traced back to medieval Germany, where it likely emerged as a locational name associated with a specific place or region. Over the centuries, the name has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields, including cartography, music, history, and business.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ortel

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

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

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

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