Explore the Family Name Karmel

The meaning of Karmel

1. Jewish (from Poland): artificial name from Polish karmel ‘caramel, burnt sugar’. Compare Carmel 1. 2. Jewish (Israeli): modern Hebrew name from the name of Mount Carmel (Har HaKarmel in Hebrew), famous as the site where the prophet Elijah vanquished the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:19). Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Zvi, Leibel, Mazal, Menashe, Shaul.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Karmel saw a slight uptick in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Karmel ranked 63,297th among all surnames and rose to the 61,899th position by 2010, reflecting a 2.21% increase in rank. The number of people carrying this surname also grew from 295 in 2000 to 324 in 2010, an increase of 9.83%. However, when we consider the proportion per 100,000 people, the prevalence of the Karmel surname remained stable at 0.11.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#63,297	#61,899	2.21%
Count	295	324	9.83%
Proportion per 100k	0.11	0.11	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Karmel

Regarding ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census indicates that the majority of individuals with the surname Karmel identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, although there was a slight decrease from 94.24% to 90.74%. Over the same period, there was a visible increase in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, rising from 4.41% to 5.86%. Interestingly, while no one with the Karmel surname identified as Hispanic in 2000, by 2010, 1.54% did. There were no changes among those identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native, remaining at zero for both decades.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.24%	90.74%	-3.71%
Asian/Pacific Islander	4.41%	5.86%	32.88%
Hispanic	0%	1.54%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%