2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Reszel
A surname of Polish origin meaning "a maker or seller of files".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Reszel. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reszel surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Reszel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reszel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reszel
The surname Reszel has its origins in Poland, where it first appeared in the late 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the Polish word "rzecz," which means "thing" or "object," and may have originally referred to someone who dealt in various goods or merchandise.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reszel can be found in a Polish census record from the town of Reszel in the Warmian-Masurian region of northeastern Poland, dating back to 1487. The town itself was first mentioned in historical documents in 1240, and it is possible that the surname Reszel is related to this place name.
In the 16th century, the name Reszel appeared in several Polish administrative records, including tax rolls and land ownership documents. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Jan Reszel, a merchant from the city of Krakow who was active in the mid-1500s.
As the centuries passed, the Reszel name continued to be found throughout various regions of Poland. In the 18th century, a prominent figure named Kazimierz Reszel (1703-1779) was a Polish nobleman and landowner who served as a regional governor in the Poznań area.
During the 19th century, the Reszel surname began to spread beyond Poland as families emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable individual from this era was Stanisław Reszel (1823-1899), a Polish writer and poet who published several collections of works celebrating his homeland's culture and traditions.
Another noteworthy bearer of the Reszel name was Ignacy Reszel (1857-1923), a Polish-American inventor and entrepreneur who patented several innovative designs for agricultural machinery and founded a successful manufacturing company in Wisconsin.
Throughout its history, the surname Reszel has maintained strong ties to its Polish roots, even as it has been carried by individuals across various countries and continents. While its precise origins may be somewhat uncertain, the name continues to reflect a rich cultural heritage and a connection to the land and traditions of its ancestral homeland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reszel
Among Census respondents with the surname Reszel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Reszel bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Reszel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reszel
Reszel appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+5 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,269 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-10 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,045 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 4,269 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 11,045 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Reszel surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #134,712 | #145,757 | -8.2% |
| Count | 125 | 115 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reszel bearers went from 125 to 115 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 11,045 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #145,757.
FAQ
Reszel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reszel?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Reszel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Reszel?
Reszel ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Reszel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Reszel.
Has Reszel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reszel went from 125 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Reszel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reszel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Reszel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reszel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (5.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Reszel (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Reszel mean?
A surname of Polish origin meaning "a maker or seller of files". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Reszel (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Reszel?
Want to know how many people have the surname Reszel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.