Explore the Family Name Riel
The meaning of Riel
1. German: variant of Riehl. 2. German and Dutch: habitational name from any of several places so named in Rhineland and North Brabant. 3. French Canadian: altered form of Irish Reel or perhaps of its cognate Ryle or of some other similar (like-sounding) Irish surname. Alternatively, the surname may possibly ultimately be of French origin (see 5 below). Compare Reil 4. 4. English (Middlesex): variant of Rial. This surname is now rare in Britain. 5. Possibly also French (Normandy and northeastern France): topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from a regional derivative of Latin rivus ‘stream’ (compare Rieux), or a habitational name from Riel-les-Eaux, a place in Côte-d’Or, or from some other place named (Le) Riel. See also 3 above. 6. Filipino: unexplained. History: The ancestor of most, if not all, of the Riel families of Canada (see 3 above) was Jean-Baptiste Riel dit Lirlande/L’Irlande, an Irishman from Limerick, who as a French soldier married Louise Cottu in Sorel, QC, in 1704. His surname was also recorded in several other forms, including Reel. However, it is possible that Jean-Baptiste Riel was actually an Irishman of French extraction. Some characteristic forenames: French Armand, Marcel, Emile, Normand, Rolande.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Riel in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Riel has seen a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Riel ranked 13,012 in terms of popularity and this ranking dropped to 14,139 by 2010, reflecting an 8.66% decrease. This trend is also indicated by the count of people with the Riel surname, which fell from 2,160 in 2000 to 2,125 in 2010, a small dip of 1.62%. The proportion of individuals with this surname per 100,000 people also decreased by 10.0%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,012 | #14,139 | -8.66% |
| Count | 2,160 | 2,125 | -1.62% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.8 | 0.72 | -10% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Riel
In regards to ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that there have been some shifts in the ethnic identities associated with the surname Riel from 2000 to 2010. A significant majority of individuals with the surname are White, although this percentage has slightly decreased from 87.41% in 2000 to 85.32% in 2010. There was a notable increase in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (boosting from 6.34% to 8.19%) and Black (rising from 0.60% to 0.89%). The portion of individuals identifying as Hispanic also increased slightly from 2.55% to 2.87%, while those identifying as two or more races went up from 2.27% to 2.45%. Interestingly, there was a sharp decrease in those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native, falling from 0.83% to 0.28%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 87.41% | 85.32% | -2.39% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 6.34% | 8.19% | 29.18% |
| Hispanic | 2.55% | 2.87% | 12.55% |
| Two or More Races | 2.27% | 2.45% | 7.93% |
| Black | 0.6% | 0.89% | 48.33% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.83% | 0.28% | -66.27% |