The Reel surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,316 people carried this name — #6,399 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 55,600 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,263 in 2000.

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In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 5 births for the Reel name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 3
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 40 people named Reel 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 East Flanders.

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

Where they live today

East Flanders 29
Antwerp 11

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

21 families named Reel, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 116 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 5
Virginia 5
Maryland 4
North Carolina 4
New York 2
Connecticut 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 258 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Reel in American newspapers,
1895–1914.

Newspaper page from The Madisonian carrying the name Reel
The Madisonian 1895-02-09
Newspaper page from The Madisonian carrying the name Reel
The Madisonian 1895-03-09
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Reel
Daily Kennebec Journal 1914-02-18

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,683 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Reel in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

2,682 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Reel. The most, 500, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 865
New South Wales 671
Queensland 646
South Australia 224
Tasmania 128
Western Australia 119
ACT (Canberra) 21

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Reel.

Who carried it

People named Reel,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Estelle Reel Meyer
    Estelle Reel Meyer 1862–1959 · educator
  • Patrick Aloysius Reel d. 1945
  • Richard Reel 1909–

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named Reel,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States434 records

434 records of the Reel name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 194
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 87
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 71
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 47
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 16
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 12
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jesse E. Reel

    Born 1913 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; cement. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1994, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William Edward Reel

    Born 1945; from Carlock, Illinois. U.S. Marine Corps, machinegunner; killed in action 1966 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Betty Reel

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the Siddons from Liverpool, aged 48; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 434 records for Reel in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia17 records

17 records of the Reel name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Bryan Reel

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the John Barry, arriving 1821; ticket of leave 1833.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Gustav H. Reel

    Retired of Caulfield, Victoria; died 1988.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza Reel

    Arrived in Victoria in 1868 aboard the Vimiera, aged 3.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 17 records for Reel in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands8 records

8 records of the Reel name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 6
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Anna Reël

    Married in 1798 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Theodorus Reël

    Baptised in 1747 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Aaltje Reel

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1863 in Hoorn.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Reel in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France7 records

7 records of the Reel name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Veronique Yvette Nicole Reel

    Born 1967 in Paris; died 1995 in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Felix Camille Hubert Reel

    Born 1924 in Luxembourg; died 1992 in Irigny (Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean Reel

    Born 1941 in Valognes (Manche); died 1998 in Plouézec (Côtes-d'Armor).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Reel in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany5 records

5 records of the Reel name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hermann Reel

    From Nürnberg. Reported wounded in the Bavarian casualty list of 2 December 1914 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 10).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Anton Reel

    From Bissingen, Bayern. Reported wounded in the Württemberg casualty list of 17 July 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 120).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Reel in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Reel name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Effa Violet Reel

    Born 1914 in Oxford, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 1 of 2 records for Reel in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Reel name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record P. Reel

    Lancashire Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Reel.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Reel 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 the Reel volume
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