2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Samels
English surname derived from an Old English personal name meaning "messenger" or "servant."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Samels. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Samels 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Samels in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Samels, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.5%) and Black (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Samels
The surname SAMELS is an English name that originated in the 13th century in the county of Gloucestershire. It is derived from the Old English words "sam" meaning half and "hulle" meaning hill, referring to a person who lived near a small hill or ridge. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Gloucestershire Pipe Rolls of 1275 as "Samhull".
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a landowner named Radulfus de Samhull was listed as holding lands in the village of Samhull, which is now known as Samels or Samles near the town of Dursley. This village is believed to be the place of origin for the surname SAMELS.
By the 14th century, the name had spread to other parts of England, with various spellings such as Samell, Sammell, and Samhyll appearing in historical records. One notable example is John Samell, a wool merchant from Worcestershire who lived from 1389 to 1457.
In the 16th century, the surname SAMELS was also found in the parish records of Oxfordshire, where a Richard Samells was recorded as a landowner in the village of Wendlebury in 1587. Another early bearer of the name was William Samels, a farmer from Gloucestershire who lived from 1602 to 1671.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, several notable individuals with the surname SAMELS emerged. One was Sir John Samels, a wealthy merchant and member of the East India Company, who lived from 1639 to 1712. Another was Thomas Samels, a renowned clockmaker from London who was active from 1715 to 1783.
Other historical figures with the surname SAMELS include Richard Samels, a writer and poet from Oxfordshire who lived from 1752 to 1822, and Mary Samels, a philanthropist and social reformer from Gloucestershire who was born in 1789 and died in 1873.
While the surname SAMELS is not as common as some other English surnames, it has a long and rich history dating back to the medieval period, with its origins firmly rooted in the county of Gloucestershire and the village that bears its name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samels
Among Census respondents with the surname Samels, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.5%) and Black (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Samels 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 Samels surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino12.5% · 13
- Black or African American3.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Samels
Samels 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
+13 bearers (+12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,484 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-17 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 15,286 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.0%) | Up 3,484 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -17 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 15,286 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 Samels 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 | #153,590 | -11.1% |
| Count | 121 | 104 | -14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Samels bearers went from 121 to 104 (-14.0% change). The surname moved down 15,286 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #153,590.
FAQ
Samels surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Samels?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Samels. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Samels?
Samels ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Samels. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Samels.
Has Samels become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Samels went from 121 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 17 (-14.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Samels?
Among Census respondents with the surname Samels, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.5%) and Black (3.8%). 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 Samels in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (83 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Samels appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Hispanic (12.5%), Black (3.8%). 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 Samels (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 Samels mean?
English surname derived from an Old English personal name meaning "messenger" or "servant." 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 Samels (0.03 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 common is the surname Samels?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Samels at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.