The Russel surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,195 people carried this name — #7,894 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 70,400 people counted. That is down 8% from 4,582 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Russel surname
A surname transferred from the nickname, a rather rare spelling variant of Russell.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Russel» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 82 people named Russel.
22 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 22 départements, most often Rhône.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 28 people named Russel 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 Buenos Aires Province.
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 Poland’s population register
25 people named Russel have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 30 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 3 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Łódź.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 print
Russel in American newspapers,
1905–1918.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 152,383 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Russel,
with a public archive behind them.
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William Russel d. 1374 · Catholic bishop
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Ann Russel d. 1805
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Richard Russel 1685–1756
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Richard Russel 1714–1771
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James Russel 1720–1763 · painter
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Hannah Catherine Maria Smith 1720–
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Russel.
- Ruse 859 · U.S. census
- Rusek 401 · U.S. census
- Rusin 1,620 · U.S. census
- Russ 16,300 · U.S. census
- Russe 190 · U.S. census
- Russeau 391 · U.S. census
- Russell 221,558 · U.S. census
- Russello 303 · U.S. census
- Russo 48,696 · U.S. census
- Russon 419 · U.S. census
- Rust 12,086 · U.S. census
- Rustan 225 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Russel 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.