2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rumel
A surname possibly derived from the German words "ruhm" meaning renown or fame, and "ell" meaning light or radiant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Rumel. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rumel 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Rumel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumel, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.0%) and Hispanic (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rumel
The surname Rumel is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the southern regions of the country. It is thought to be derived from an old Germanic word meaning "rumbling" or "roaring," which may have been used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a loud or booming voice.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rumel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents dating back to the 11th century. In this text, there is a reference to a man named Rumelo, which is likely an early variant spelling of the modern surname.
In the 13th century, there are records of a family bearing the name Rumel residing in the town of Augsburg, in modern-day Bavaria. This town was an important center of trade and commerce during the Middle Ages, and it is possible that the Rumel family was involved in commercial activities.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure with the surname Rumel was Johannes Rumel, a German humanist and scholar who lived from 1492 to 1558. He was a professor at the University of Tübingen and wrote several works on theology and classical literature.
Another prominent individual with the name Rumel was Christoph Rumel, a German composer and organist who lived from 1590 to 1649. He served as the court organist for the Dukes of Saxe-Weimar and composed numerous works for organ and other instruments.
In the 18th century, there was a German painter named Johann Georg Rumel, who was born in 1720 and died in 1786. He was known for his portrait paintings and worked in various cities throughout Germany, including Dresden and Leipzig.
Moving into the 19th century, one notable figure with the surname Rumel was Karl Rumel, a German politician and lawyer who lived from 1839 to 1919. He served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) and was involved in the formation of the German Empire in 1871.
Another individual with the name Rumel worth mentioning is Hermann Rumel, a German military officer who lived from 1866 to 1945. He served in the German army during World War I and later held a high-ranking position in the Wehrmacht (the armed forces of Nazi Germany) during World War II.
While the surname Rumel has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, likely due to emigration and migration patterns over the centuries. However, its origins can be traced back to the southern regions of Germany, where it was likely first used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a distinctive voice or manner of speaking.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rumel
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumel, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.0%) and Hispanic (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Rumel 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 Rumel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.0% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 6
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rumel
Rumel 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+10 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 437 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-11 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 437 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 11,142 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 Rumel 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 | #138,304 | #149,446 | -8.1% |
| Count | 121 | 110 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rumel bearers went from 121 to 110 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 11,142 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #149,446.
FAQ
Rumel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rumel?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Rumel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Rumel?
Rumel ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Rumel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Rumel.
Has Rumel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rumel went from 121 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Rumel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumel, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.0%) and Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Rumel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rumel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (10.0%), Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Rumel (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 Rumel mean?
A surname possibly derived from the German words "ruhm" meaning renown or fame, and "ell" meaning light or radiant. 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 Rumel (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 are called Rumel?
You can see how many people are called Rumel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.