2000
#1,052
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,388
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.26
Uncommon Last name
Vogel
A German and Jewish surname derived from the German word for "bird," likely referring to a birdcatcher or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,106 Americans carry the last name Vogel. That puts it at #1,162 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,050 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vogel 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Vogel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 10,050
Census rank
#1,162
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,742 bearers of the surname Vogel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1162nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vogel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vogel
The surname Vogel is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "vogel," meaning "bird." This name likely originated as a descriptive surname, possibly given to someone who had a bird-like appearance, behavior, or occupation related to birds.
The earliest recorded instances of the Vogel surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony. In the medieval period, the name appeared in various spellings, including Voghel, Vogl, and Fogel.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Vogel surname was Heinrich Vogel, a German cleric and scholar who lived in the late 13th century. He served as the Provost of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Bamberg and was known for his writings on ecclesiastical law.
In the 15th century, the Vogel name was found in several historical records, including the Berne Shilling Book, a tax register from the city of Berne, Switzerland, which listed several individuals with the surname Vogel.
During the 16th century, the Vogel family gained prominence in the town of Nuremberg, where several members were successful merchants and artisans. One notable figure was Georg Vogel, a skilled goldsmith and engraver who lived from 1512 to 1568.
In the 17th century, Johannes Vogel (1589-1663) was a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry. He was also a professor at the University of Hamburg and published several works on mathematics and astronomy.
Another notable bearer of the Vogel surname was Christian Leberecht Vogel (1759-1789), a German writer and poet who was part of the Sturm und Drang literary movement. He is best known for his collection of poems titled "Idyllen" (Idylls).
Throughout the centuries, the Vogel surname has been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Vogelsang (meaning "bird's song"), Vogelsberg (meaning "bird's mountain"), and Vogelherd (meaning "bird's hearth").
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vogel
Among Census respondents with the surname Vogel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vogel 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 Vogel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 27,392
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,045
- Two or more races2.9% · 848
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 233
- Black or African American0.5% · 144
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 80
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vogel
Vogel 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
#1,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,470
+82 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 10.33
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#1,162
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,742
-728 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 9.95
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,052 | 30,388 | 11.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,153 | 30,470 | 10.33 | +82 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #1,162 | 29,742 | 9.95 | -728 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 9 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 Vogel 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 | #1,153 | #1,162 | -0.8% |
| Count | 30,470 | 29,742 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 10.33 | 9.95 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vogel bearers went from 30,470 to 29,742 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,153 to #1,162.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Vogel
FAQ
Vogel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vogel?
Name Census estimates that about 34,106 living Americans carry the surname Vogel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,050 residents.
How common is Vogel?
Vogel ranks #1,162 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,742 people with the surname Vogel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,106), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Vogel.
Has Vogel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vogel went from 30,470 recorded bearers to 29,742. That is a decrease of 728 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,153 to #1,162.
What does the Census say about the background of Vogel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vogel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Vogel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (27,392 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vogel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Vogel (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 Vogel mean?
A German and Jewish surname derived from the German word for "bird," likely referring to a birdcatcher or seller. 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 Vogel (9.95 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 Vogel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Vogel is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.