2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Shavel
A surname derived from the Polish word "szewc" meaning shoemaker or cobbler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Shavel. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shavel 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Shavel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shavel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shavel
The surname SHAVEL is of Polish origin, deriving from the Polish word "szawel," which means "savory" or a type of herb. The earliest known records of this name can be traced back to the 16th century in the areas of modern-day Poland and Belarus.
The name SHAVEL likely originated as a descriptive surname, given to individuals who were involved in the cultivation or trade of savory or other herbs. It may have also referred to someone who lived near an area known for its abundance of this particular herb.
In the 17th century, a record from the town of Poznan, Poland, mentions a merchant named Jan SHAVEL, who was involved in the spice trade. This provides evidence of the name's early association with the herb trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SHAVEL can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of Polish state documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, where a nobleman named Piotr SHAVEL is mentioned in 1623.
During the 19th century, the name SHAVEL began to spread beyond Poland and Belarus, as many individuals with this surname migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the United States and Canada.
Notable individuals with the surname SHAVEL include:
1. Mikhail SHAVEL (1888-1939), a Belarusian politician and writer who played a significant role in the formation of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.
2. Vera SHAVEL (1905-1991), a Russian-American ballet dancer and teacher who had a successful career with the Ballets Russes and later founded her own dance school in Los Angeles.
3. Yuri SHAVEL (born 1948), a Belarusian writer and poet, known for his contributions to contemporary Belarusian literature.
4. Andrei SHAVEL (born 1975), a Belarusian businessman and politician who served as the Minister of Industry of Belarus from 2014 to 2017.
5. Yelena SHAVEL (born 1982), a Belarusian professional tennis player who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 35 in the world.
While the surname SHAVEL may have evolved and spread across various regions, its origins can be traced back to the Polish word "szawel" and its early association with the herb and spice trade in Central and Eastern Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shavel
Among Census respondents with the surname Shavel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Shavel 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 Shavel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shavel
Shavel 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-12 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,377 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 18,377 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,631 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 Shavel 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 | #140,157 | #142,788 | -1.9% |
| Count | 119 | 119 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shavel bearers went from 119 to 119 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,788.
FAQ
Shavel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shavel?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Shavel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Shavel?
Shavel ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Shavel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Shavel.
Has Shavel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shavel went from 119 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Shavel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shavel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Shavel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shavel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (4.2%), Black (1.7%). 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 Shavel (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 Shavel mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word "szewc" meaning shoemaker or cobbler. 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 Shavel (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 have the last name Shavel?
If you just want to know how many people are called Shavel, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.