Riedel last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Riedel

A German toponymic surname indicating someone who lived near a reed bed or in a clearing in the reeds.

Riedel, 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 Riedel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Riedel in America

Riedel is the 5295th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Riedel surname appeared 6,578 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Riedel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Riedel 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 5295 5006 5.61%
Count 6,578 6,430 2.28%
Proportion per 100k 2.23 2.38 -6.51%

The history of the last name Riedel

The surname Riedel is of German origin, with roots that can be traced back to the 14th century. It is derived from the German word "Ried," which means "reed" or "marsh," indicating that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a marshy area or worked with reeds.

The earliest known record of the name Riedel dates back to 1389, when a certain Heinz Riedel was mentioned in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the late Middle Ages.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Riedel name appears in various historical documents across German-speaking areas, including church records, tax rolls, and guild registries. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Riedel (1570-1638), a German engraver and printmaker who was active in Augsburg.

In the 18th century, the Riedel family became prominent in the glass-making industry in Bohemia, which was then part of the Habsburg Monarchy. Johann Christoph Riedel (1705-1784) established a glassworks in Polesná, which would later become one of the most renowned producers of fine crystal glassware, known as Riedel Crystal.

Another significant figure with the Riedel surname was Christian Samuel Riedel (1726-1801), a German botanist and physician who made important contributions to the study of plant classification and taxonomy.

As the Riedel family prospered in the glass industry, their name became closely associated with the production of high-quality glassware. Walter Riedel (1857-1919), a descendant of Johann Christoph Riedel, played a pivotal role in modernizing and expanding the family business in the late 19th century.

Over the centuries, the Riedel surname has also been linked to various places in Germany and Austria, such as Riedelsheim, Riedenburg, and Riedlhütte, which may have contributed to the development of local variations of the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Riedel

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

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 Riedel was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.75% 6,167
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.50% 33
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.93% 61
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.29% 19
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.41% 93
Hispanic Origin 3.12% 205

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 Riedel has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.75% 95.18% -1.51%
Black 0.50% 0.40% 22.22%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.93% 0.48% 63.83%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.29% 0.30% -3.39%
Two or More Races 1.41% 1.17% 18.60%
Hispanic 3.12% 2.47% 23.26%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Riedel last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/riedel-surname-popularity/.

"Riedel last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/riedel-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Riedel last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/riedel-surname-popularity/.

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