The Biel surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,359 people carried this name — #13,010 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 125,000 people counted. That is up 11% from 2,131 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Biel surname
From Polish biel (“white”) or Old Polish biel (“mud, swamp”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Biel» (Polish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
4,720 people named Biel have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 5,114 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 125 people named Biel.
19 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often Ardennes.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
70 people named Biel live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
104 people named Biel is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Biel in American newspapers,
1890–1911.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 37,352 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Biel,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Antonie Biel 1830–1880 · painter -
Karl Emil Biel 1838–1915 · photographer -
Karl Emil Biel 1838–1915 · photographer
-
Anna Maria Jordan 1865–1907 · children's writer -
Julián Biel 1869–1948 · opera singer -
Henryk Biel d. 1424
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Biel.
- Bieber 4,301 · U.S. census
- Biechy 114 · U.S. census
- Biedermann 758 · U.S. census
- Bieganski 207 · U.S. census
- Biegel 863 · U.S. census
- Biehler 557 · U.S. census
- Bielak 547 · U.S. census
- Bielawski 1,086 · U.S. census
- Bielecki 1,505 · U.S. census
- Bieler 673 · U.S. census
- Bielli 106 · U.S. census
- Bien 1,960 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Biel is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.