2000
#9,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,081
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.14
Rare Last name
Seidl
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of silk or silk products.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,493 Americans carry the last name Seidl. That puts it at #10,086 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,126 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seidl 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
3.5K
1 in 98,126
Census rank
#10,086
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,046 bearers of the surname Seidl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10086th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seidl, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seidl
The surname Seidl originates from Germany, where it first appeared in the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "seide," meaning "silk," and may have referred to an occupation such as a silk merchant or a silk weaver. The name was initially found in Bavaria and other southern regions of Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Seidl surname can be found in the church records of Augsburg, Bavaria, in the late 16th century. It is also mentioned in various documents from the city of Nuremberg in the early 17th century, suggesting its presence in the region during that time.
The name Seidl has also been associated with certain place names, such as Seidlberg, a village in Upper Austria. This may indicate that the surname could have originated from or been influenced by these geographic locations.
Among the notable individuals who bore the Seidl surname throughout history are Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804-1875), an Austrian composer and conductor, and Anton Seidl (1850-1898), a Hungarian-born conductor who worked extensively in the United States, particularly with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Another prominent figure was Rudolf Seidl (1872-1941), an Austrian-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Manhattan Bridge Arch and the New York Hippodrome Theatre.
In the literary world, Johann Nepomuk Seidl (1793-1853) was a German writer and poet who gained recognition for his ballads and romantic works.
Additionally, Johann Seidl (1857-1938) was an Austrian politician and jurist who served as the Mayor of Vienna from 1918 to 1923, during a crucial period in the city's history.
While these are just a few examples, the Seidl surname has a long and diverse history, spanning various fields and regions, particularly in Germany and Austria, where it first emerged and gained prominence.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seidl
Among Census respondents with the surname Seidl, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Seidl 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 Seidl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,840
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 82
- Two or more races2.2% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 16
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seidl
Seidl 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
#10,332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,118
+37 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 657 places
2020
#10,086
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,046
-72 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Up 246 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,675 | 3,081 | 1.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,332 | 3,118 | 1.06 | +37 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 657 places |
| 2020 | #10,086 | 3,046 | 1.02 | -72 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 246 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 Seidl 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 | #10,332 | #10,086 | 2.4% |
| Count | 3,118 | 3,046 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 1.02 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seidl bearers went from 3,118 to 3,046 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 246 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,332 to #10,086.
FAQ
Seidl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seidl?
Name Census estimates that about 3,493 living Americans carry the surname Seidl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,126 residents.
How common is Seidl?
Seidl ranks #10,086 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,046 people with the surname Seidl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,493), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Seidl.
Has Seidl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seidl went from 3,118 recorded bearers to 3,046. That is a decrease of 72 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,332 to #10,086.
What does the Census say about the background of Seidl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seidl, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Seidl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,840 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seidl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Seidl (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 Seidl mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of silk or silk products. 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 Seidl (1.02 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 Seidl?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Seidl at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.