2000
#89,895
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 191
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Schmidl
A surname originating in southern Germany and Austria, derived from the word "Schmied" meaning blacksmith or metalsmith.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 218 Americans carry the last name Schmidl. That puts it at #101,282 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,572,268 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schmidl 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
218
1 in 1,572,268
Census rank
#101,282
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
190
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 190 bearers of the surname Schmidl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 101282nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmidl, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schmidl
The surname Schmidl is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "Schmied," meaning "blacksmith" or "metalworker." The suffix "-l" is a diminutive form, suggesting that the name likely referred to someone who worked as a small-scale blacksmith or metalworker.
In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled as "Schmidlin" or "Schmidlein," which are also diminutive variations. The Schmidl surname can be traced back to various regions of present-day Germany, particularly in the southern and central areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Schmidl can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the German state of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a person named "Conradus Schmidlin" is mentioned in relation to a land transaction.
The Schmidl name has also been documented in various municipal records and chronicles from various German cities and towns throughout the late medieval and early modern periods.
One notable bearer of the surname Schmidl was Ulrich Schmidl (c. 1510 – c. 1579), a German adventurer and explorer who accompanied the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza on his expedition to the Río de la Plata region in South America. Schmidl's account of this expedition, titled "Viaje al Río de la Plata," is considered one of the earliest and most valuable sources of information about the early Spanish colonization efforts in the region.
Another historical figure with the Schmidl surname was Johann Schmidl (1711 – 1769), a German Baroque composer and organist who served as the court kapellmeister in Nuremberg.
The name Schmidl can also be found in various historical records from other German-speaking regions, such as Austria and Switzerland. For instance, Georg Schmidl (1642 – 1694) was an Austrian Baroque painter known for his religious works, while Johann Jakob Schmidl (1755 – 1833) was a Swiss politician and member of the Great Council of Bern.
Other notable individuals with the Schmidl surname include Johann Baptist Schmidl (1764 – 1851), a German Catholic priest and historian who wrote extensively about the history of his hometown, Amberg, in Bavaria, and Wilhelm Schmidl (1838 – 1917), a German politician and member of the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) during the German Empire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schmidl
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmidl, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Schmidl 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 Schmidl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 165
- Two or more races5.8% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schmidl
Schmidl 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
-62 bearers (-32.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 41,484 places
2020
#101,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 190
+61 bearers (+47.3%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 30,097 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #89,895 | 191 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | -62 bearers (-32.5%) | Down 41,484 places |
| 2020 | #101,282 | 190 | 0.06 | +61 bearers (+47.3%) | Up 30,097 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 Schmidl 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 | #131,379 | #101,282 | 22.9% |
| Count | 129 | 190 | 47.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.06 | 58.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schmidl bearers went from 129 to 190 (+47.3% change). The surname moved up 30,097 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #101,282.
FAQ
Schmidl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schmidl?
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the surname Schmidl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,572,268 residents.
How common is Schmidl?
Schmidl ranks #101,282 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 190 people with the surname Schmidl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (218), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Schmidl.
Has Schmidl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schmidl went from 129 recorded bearers to 190. That is an increase of 61 (+47.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #131,379 to #101,282.
What does the Census say about the background of Schmidl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmidl, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Schmidl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (165 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schmidl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Two or More Races (5.8%), Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Schmidl (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 Schmidl mean?
A surname originating in southern Germany and Austria, derived from the word "Schmied" meaning blacksmith or metalsmith. 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 Schmidl (0.06 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 surname Schmidl?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.