Explore the Family Name Schmehl

The meaning of Schmehl

1. North German: perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman, related to Schmel, a kind of fish. 2. German: possibly from a Germanized form of an Old Slavic personal name based on the adjective mil ‘gentle, dear’ with fused particle s. Some characteristic forenames: German Hermann, Otto.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Schmehl has seen a slight shift in its popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked at 35,916 but by 2010, it had slipped to 37,288, marking a decrease of about 3.82%. However, the count of individuals with the surname saw a marginal increase from 591 in 2000 to 598 in 2010. Consequently, the proportion per 100,000 people bearing the name Schmehl also decreased by approximately 9.09%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#35,916	#37,288	-3.82%
Count	591	598	1.18%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.2	-9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Schmehl

On the matter of ethnicity, the census data indicates a clear dominance of white individuals among those with the surname Schmehl. In both 2000 and 2010, whites represented over 95% of all Schmehls, with an insignificant growth of 0.23% over the decade. In contrast, representation from the Hispanic community saw a slight decrease of 6.89% from 2000 to 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders identifying as Schmehl fell to zero in 2010, down from 0.85% in 2000. The proportions of other ethnic identities such as Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native, and those identifying as two or more races were unchanged, remaining at zero throughout this period. This data is based on the Decennial U.S. Census.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.6%	95.82%	0.23%
Hispanic	3.05%	2.84%	-6.89%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.85%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%