Giel surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Giel surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 430 people carried this name — #48,995 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 666,700 people counted. That is down 7% from 461 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Giel surname

From gil (“bullfinch”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Giel» (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

696 people named Giel have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 772 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 12 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Silesian 284
Greater Poland 265
Lower Silesian 34
Opole 20
Lubusz 16
West Pomeranian 16
Masovian 14
Holy Cross 13

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 54 people named Giel.

11 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 10 départements, most often Seine-Maritime.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 11
Seine-Maritime 20
Saône-et-Loire 9
Bas-Rhin 3
Paris 3
Pas-de-Calais 2
Eure 2
Manche 1
Hérault 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

Who carried it

People named Giel,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Paul Giel
    Paul Giel 1932–2002 · baseball player
  • Henri Giel 1892–1981 · banker
  • Günter Giel 1929–1988
  • Rob Giel 1930–2009 · psychiatrist
  • Kathleen Giel 1953– · writer
  • Barbara Giel 1968– · pedagogue

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Giel.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Giel 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.

See what a volume holds
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