The Schnell surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,708 people carried this name — #5,208 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 44,100 people counted. That is up 1% from 6,647 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Schnell surname
German and Jewish surname, from the adjective schnell (“quick, swift”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Schnell» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
836 people named Schnell live in Switzerland.
They live in 18 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Basel-Landschaft.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 604 people named Schnell.
53 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 36 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 317 people named Schnell 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 Santa Fe.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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
37 people named Schnell have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 68 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lower Silesian.
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 the Nordic population registers
122 people named Schnell 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
Schnell in American newspapers,
1914–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 244,476 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Schnell,
with a public archive behind them.
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Anselm Schnell d. 1751 · monk
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Laurentius Schnell 1480–1541 · jurist
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Martin Schnell 1675–1740 · visual artist
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Simon Schnell 1690–1754 · Warden
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Georg Hinrich Schnell 1697–1774 · mayor
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Claus Jørgen Schnell 1702–1783 · military officer
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Schnell.
- Schnabel 3,110 · U.S. census
- Schnebelen 145 · U.S. census
- Schnee 946 · U.S. census
- Schneeberger 910 · U.S. census
- Schneider 101,290 · U.S. census
- Schneiter 573 · U.S. census
- Schneller 912 · U.S. census
- Schnepf 785 · U.S. census
- Schnepp 1,000 · U.S. census
- Schnitzler 1,200 · U.S. census
- Schnoebelen 446 · U.S. census
- Schnorr 623 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Schnell 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.