2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Warzel
A surname derived from the Polish term "warzywnik," referring to a vegetable gardener or grower.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Warzel. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Warzel 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Warzel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Warzel, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Warzel
The surname Warzel is of German origin, first appearing in historical records around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "wurz," meaning "root" or "plant." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who cultivated or traded in root vegetables or herbs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the medieval German town of Gelnhausen, where a "Heinrich Warzel" is mentioned in a tax record from 1287. The name also appears in various forms, such as "Wurtzel" and "Wurzel," in other German regions like Saxony and Bavaria during this period.
In the 14th century, a notable individual named Johannes Warzel (1322-1398) was a prominent scholar and theologian at the University of Prague. He authored several influential works on philosophy and theology, which were widely circulated throughout Europe during the Renaissance.
The Warzel name can also be traced to certain place names in Germany, such as the town of Wurzelbach in Rhineland-Palatinate, which may have influenced the development of the surname in that region.
Another figure of historical significance was Hans Warzel (1489-1562), a German Protestant reformer and close associate of Martin Luther. He played a crucial role in the dissemination of Lutheran teachings throughout northern Germany and is mentioned in several contemporary accounts of the Reformation.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Warzel surname became more widespread across various German states, including Prussia and Saxony. Notable individuals from this period include the poet and playwright Michael Warzel (1567-1623) and the military commander Johann von Warzel (1612-1689), who fought in the Thirty Years' War.
As the Warzel family dispersed throughout Europe, variations of the name emerged, such as the Dutch "Wortel" and the Polish "Warchoł." In the 19th century, a significant number of Warzels immigrated to the United States, particularly settling in Pennsylvania and the Midwest.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Warzel
Among Census respondents with the surname Warzel, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Warzel 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 Warzel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Warzel
Warzel appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
+5 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,373 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+5.0%) | Up 7,373 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 Warzel 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 | #159,712 | #152,339 | 4.6% |
| Count | 101 | 106 | 5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 18.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Warzel bearers went from 101 to 106 (+5.0% change). The surname moved up 7,373 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #152,339.
FAQ
Warzel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Warzel?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Warzel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Warzel?
Warzel ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Warzel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Warzel.
Has Warzel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Warzel went from 101 recorded bearers to 106. That is an increase of 5 (+5.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Warzel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Warzel, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Warzel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Warzel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Warzel (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 Warzel mean?
A surname derived from the Polish term "warzywnik," referring to a vegetable gardener or grower. 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 Warzel (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 common is the surname Warzel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Warzel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.