Idel
A feminine Russian diminutive form of the name Ida, derived from the Germanic word 'id' meaning labor or work.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Idel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Idel today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Idel births was 1916 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Idel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Idel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1916
8 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2008 SSA rank
#5,461
Tracked since 1916
Census
Idel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 255 people with the first name Idel, which placed it at #32,783 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#32,783
National first-name rank
People counted
255
255 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
60.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Idel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idel is Hispanic at 60.4%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Black (15.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Idel 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Idel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino60.4% · 154
- White20.0% · 51
- Black or African American15.7% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 6
- Two or more races1.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Idel
Idel is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 24 total registrations, 6 (25.0%) were male and 18 (75.0%) were female.
Idel as a male name
- Ranked #11,592 in 2008
- 6 male births in 2008
- Peak: 2008 (6 births)
Idel as a female name
- Ranked #5,461 in 1921
- 5 female births in 1921
- Peak: 1916 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Idel on both sides of the split. Of the 253 people counted with this name, 168 were male (66.4%) and 85 were female (33.6%).
Popularity
Idel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Idel from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Idel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Idel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Idel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Idel
The name Idel is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, derived from the word "idel," which means "divine" or "great." Its roots can be traced back to ancient Semitic cultures in the Middle East, where it was likely used as a personal name to reflect divine or spiritual qualities.
The earliest recorded use of the name Idel can be found in biblical texts and ancient Hebrew scriptures, although the exact references are somewhat obscure. It is possible that the name was associated with various religious or spiritual figures in early Judaic traditions.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Idel was Idel ben Gabirol, a renowned Jewish philosopher and poet from the 11th century in Spain. Born in 1021 in Malaga, Idel ben Gabirol made significant contributions to the fields of Jewish philosophy and literature, and his works, such as "The Fountain of Life," have been widely studied and translated.
Another notable figure with the name Idel was Idel Izhaki, a 12th-century French rabbi and biblical commentator. Izhaki was born in Troyes, France, and is best known for his comprehensive commentaries on the Torah, which have been influential in Jewish scholarship and study.
In the 16th century, Idel Akiba ben Joseph Bacharach was a prominent rabbi and Talmudic scholar from Poland. Born in 1579 in Cracow, he authored several influential works on Jewish law and ethics, including "Chavot Yair" and "Shaarei Teshuvah."
Moving forward in history, Idel Dreyfus was a French military officer who was wrongfully accused of treason in the infamous Dreyfus Affair of the late 19th century. Born in 1859 in Mulhouse, Alsace, Dreyfus's unjust conviction and subsequent exoneration sparked public debates about antisemitism and human rights in France.
Lastly, Idel Montor was a 20th-century Israeli artist and sculptor, known for his abstract and modernist works. Born in 1905 in Bialystok, Poland, Montor's sculptures and public art installations can be found throughout Israel and other countries, showcasing his unique artistic vision and creative expression.
While not an exhaustive list, these individuals exemplify the rich historical and cultural significance associated with the name Idel, spanning various fields and time periods across different regions.
People
Idel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Idel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Idel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Idel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Idel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Idel a common name?
We classify Idel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Idel most popular?
The single biggest year for Idel was 1916, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Idel is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Idel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 255 people with the name Idel, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,783 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Idel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Idel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Idel on both sides of the split. Of the 253 people counted with this name, 168 were male (66.4%) and 85 were female (33.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Idel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idel is Hispanic at 60.4%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Black (15.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Idel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Idel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.4% (154 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Idel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Idel a female name?
Yes, 75.0% of people registered as Idel in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Idel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Idel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Idel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Idel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.