Explore the Family Name Bengel

The meaning of Bengel

German: 1. habitational name from a place so named, for example in Bavaria and the Mosel area. 2. from Middle High German bengel ‘club, cudgel’ or in a transferred sense ‘hooligan, lout’, hence a nickname for a boorish man. Compare Bangle.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Bengel in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Bengel saw a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Bengel held the rank of 34,038 in terms of surname popularity across the United States, but it fell to a ranking of 37,899 in 2010, marking an 11.34% decrease. The total count of individuals bearing the Bengel surname also dropped by 7.13%, from 631 in 2000 to 586 in 2010. Consequently, the proportion of people with the Bengel surname per 100,000 residents decreased by 13.04%, from 0.23 in 2000 to 0.2 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#34,038#37,899-11.34%
Count631586-7.13%
Proportion per 100k0.230.2-13.04%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bengel

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some shifts for those carrying the Bengel surname between 2000 and 2010. A vast majority of people with this surname identified as White, though the percentage did fall slightly from 96.51% in 2000 to 93.34% in 2010. Interestingly, the percentage identifying as Hispanic nearly doubled during this time period, increasing by 94.3% to 3.07% in 2010. Additionally, the percentage of people identifying as Black was recorded for the first time in 2010, at 1.19%. Those who identified as belonging to two or more races saw a modest increase from 1.27% to 1.37%. No people with the surname Bengel identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

20002010Change
White96.51%93.34%-3.28%
Hispanic1.58%3.07%94.3%
Two or More Races1.27%1.37%7.87%
Black0%1.19%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%