Warnell
A Germanic name transferred from a surname meaning "guard of the valley".
Name Census estimates that about 96 living Americans carry the first name Warnell. It is a predominantly male name (91.0% of registrations). The average person named Warnell today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Warnell births was 1923 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Warnell. 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 Warnell is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Warnells were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Warnell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
96
~ 1 in 3,570,358 Americans
Peak year
1923
12 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1986 SSA rank
#5,545
Tracked since 1918
Census
Warnell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 157 people with the first name Warnell, which placed it at #44,257 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
#44,257
National first-name rank
People counted
157
157 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Warnell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Warnell is Black at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) and Hispanic (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 Warnell 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 Warnell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.9% · 138
- White7.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 3
- Two or more races1.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Warnell
Warnell leans heavily male at 91.0% of total registrations, but 16 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Warnell as a male name
- Ranked #6,701 in 1986
- 6 male births in 1986
- Peak: 1962 (12 births)
Warnell as a female name
- Ranked #5,545 in 1952
- 6 female births in 1952
- Peak: 1952 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Warnell on both sides of the split. Of the 168 people counted with this name, 126 were male (75.0%) and 42 were female (25.0%).
Popularity
Warnell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Warnell from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 40 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Warnell 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 Warnell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Warnells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Warnell
The name Warnell is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, with roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon era of the 5th to 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "wæren" meaning "protector" and "ell" signifying "elder" or "leader." Thus, the name Warnell could be interpreted as "protector elder" or "guardian leader."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Warnell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Warenhel," which is believed to be a variation of the more modern spelling.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Warnell was primarily concentrated in regions of England and Scotland. It appeared in various historical records, including parish registers and court documents, indicating its widespread use among the English-speaking population.
One notable figure bearing the name Warnell was Sir Warnell Hansford (1590-1652), an English military officer who fought in the English Civil War. He was a staunch Royalist and served as a lieutenant colonel in the King's army during the conflict.
Another individual of historical significance was Warnell Hawkins (1680-1744), a prominent merchant and landowner from Suffolk, England. He was known for his extensive trading ventures and accumulation of wealth, which allowed him to acquire significant landholdings in the region.
In the realm of literature, the name Warnell appears in several works from the 18th and 19th centuries. For instance, Warnell Johnstone is a character in the novel "The Mysterious Wanderer" by Sophia Lee, published in 1796. This suggests that the name was familiar enough to be used in fictional works of the time.
Another notable figure was Warnell Abbot (1810-1878), an American educator and clergyman who served as the principal of the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, from 1848 to 1868. He played a significant role in shaping the educational landscape of his time.
Lastly, Warnell Jones (1882-1957) was a Welsh-born American industrialist and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the steel industry and later became a prominent donor, supporting various educational and cultural institutions in his adopted home state of Ohio.
These examples illustrate the historical presence and usage of the name Warnell across different periods and regions, often associated with individuals of notable accomplishments or social standing.
People
Warnell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Warnell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Warnell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Warnell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 96 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Warnell 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 3,570,358 US residents.
Is Warnell a common name?
We classify Warnell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Warnell most popular?
The single biggest year for Warnell was 1923, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Warnell is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Warnell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 157 people with the name Warnell, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,257 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 Warnell 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 Warnell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Warnell on both sides of the split. Of the 168 people counted with this name, 126 were male (75.0%) and 42 were female (25.0%). 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 Warnell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Warnell is Black at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) and Hispanic (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 Warnell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Warnell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (138 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 Warnell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Warnell a male name?
Yes, 91.0% of people registered as Warnell in the SSA data are male. 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 Warnell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Warnell 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 Warnell 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 common is the name Warnell?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Warnell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.