Ursel
A name of Germanic origin, likely a diminutive form of Ursula.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Ursel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 76.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Ursel today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ursel births was 1915 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ursel. 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
- • The typical person named Ursel is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ursels were born before 1967.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ursel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1915
6 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1917 SSA rank
#4,548
Tracked since 1915
Census
Ursel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 212 people with the first name Ursel, which placed it at #37,053 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
#37,053
National first-name rank
People counted
212
212 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ursel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ursel is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Ursel 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 Ursel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 170
- Black or African American16.0% · 34
- Two or more races1.9% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Ursel
Ursel is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 21 total registrations, 5 (23.8%) were male and 16 (76.2%) were female.
Ursel as a male name
- Ranked #4,548 in 1917
- 5 male births in 1917
- Peak: 1917 (5 births)
Ursel as a female name
- Ranked #6,946 in 1957
- 5 female births in 1957
- Peak: 1915 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ursel leans strongly female. 196 people counted with this name were female (92.0%), compared with 17 male bearers (8.0%).
Popularity
Ursel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ursel from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 16 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Ursel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ursel 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 Ursel 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 Ursel
The name Ursel originated from the German language and has its roots dating back to medieval times. It is a diminutive form of the female name Ursula, which is derived from the Latin name Ursa, meaning "bear." The name Ursula was popular among early Christian martyrs and saints.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ursel can be found in the 12th century, when it appeared in medieval German literature and records. It was particularly common in regions like Bavaria and Swabia, where German dialects were spoken.
In terms of historical references, the name Ursel is not directly associated with any ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, its root name, Ursula, has a connection to Christian hagiography. According to legend, Saint Ursula was a British princess who was martyred along with her companions in Cologne, Germany, in the 4th or 5th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ursel was Ursel von Kernden, a German noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. She was known for her involvement in religious affairs and was a benefactor of the Cistercian monastery in Himmerod, Germany.
Another notable figure with the name Ursel was Ursel Zettler (1498-1535), a German Protestant reformer and follower of Martin Luther. She was instrumental in spreading the ideas of the Reformation in the city of Nuremberg.
In the 16th century, Ursel Bingel (1530-1599) was a German Renaissance painter known for her portraits and religious works. She was active in the city of Augsburg and was one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition.
Moving forward to the 17th century, Ursel von Germersheim (1608-1673) was a German noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the administration of her family's estates during the Thirty Years' War.
In the 19th century, Ursel Zitzmann (1833-1903) was a German writer and poet who published works in both German and Sorbian languages. She was known for her contributions to the literary scene in Saxony, Germany.
While the name Ursel has its roots in German-speaking regions, it has been used in various forms and spellings across different cultures and languages over the centuries. However, its historical prominence remains closely tied to its Germanic origins and the individuals who bore this name throughout the medieval, Renaissance, and early modern periods.
People
Ursel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ursel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ursel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ursel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ursel 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Ursel a common name?
We classify Ursel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ursel most popular?
The single biggest year for Ursel was 1915, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ursel is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ursel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 212 people with the name Ursel, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,053 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 Ursel 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 Ursel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ursel leans strongly female. 196 people counted with this name were female (92.0%), compared with 17 male bearers (8.0%). 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 Ursel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ursel is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Ursel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ursel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (170 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 Ursel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ursel a female name?
Yes, 76.2% of people registered as Ursel 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 Ursel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ursel 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 Ursel 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 Ursel?
Want to know how many people have the name Ursel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.