The Chmiel surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,690 people carried this name — #16,868 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 175,400 people counted. That is up 6% from 1,595 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Chmiel surname
From the Polish surname Chmiel.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chmiel» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
13,564 people named Chmiel have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 14,895 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 Subcarpathian.
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 104 people named Chmiel.
43 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 19 départements, most often Nord.
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
44 people named Chmiel live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 44 people named Chmiel live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 22 people named Chmiel live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
43 people named Chmiel 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
Chmiel in American newspapers,
1899–1917.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
Who carried it
People named Chmiel,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Adam Chmiel 1865–1934 · historian -
Karol Chmiel 1911–1951 · military personnel -
Józef Chmiel 1924–1984 · physician -
Karol Chmiel 1891–1954 · librarian
-
Józef Chmiel 1897–1955 · trade unionist
-
Jan Chmiel 1909–
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Chmiel.
- Chini 240 · U.S. census
- Chiocca 185 · U.S. census
- Chiodi 316 · U.S. census
- Chiotti 182 · U.S. census
- Chira 264 · U.S. census
- Chiri 164 · U.S. census
- Chmielewski 3,449 · U.S. census
- Chojnacki 1,630 · U.S. census
- Chol 384 · U.S. census
- Cholewa 663 · U.S. census
- Chollet 143 · U.S. census
- Chon 3,643 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Chmiel 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.