Boys' name · since 1915

Hancel

78 babies named Hancel in U.S. Social Security records since 1915, with the highest year being 1922. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#19,075 of 45,481
all-time among boys
78
born since 1915
1930s
peak decade

78 boys have been named Hancel since 1915, though it isn't currently a top-ranked name.

Hancel has 78 recorded births among boys since 1915, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1930s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1915 to 2017.

  • #19,075 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • 78 born since 1915
  • 1930s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Hancel ranks #19,075 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 78 born since 1915, peaking in the 1930s.

#19,075 of 45,481
all-time among boys
78
born since 1915
1930s
peak decade
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Hancel's 78 recorded births place it above 57.94% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

Hancel's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Hancel's SSA record in two at 1930 and the more recent half accounts for 53% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 47%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1915, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1922 peak of 10, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Hancel popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1915–2017

Last recorded 2017
Peak year (1922)
10
Annual births at peak, across 103 years of records
4681012 1915191819211930193519402017 6

Hancel by decade

1930s is the heaviest window (25 births, 32% of the file).

1930s was Hancel's strongest decade.

25 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 32% of all-time use.

Hancel births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1930s at 25 births (32% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Hancel? ▼
Hancel has been given to 78 babies in the U.S. since 1915, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #19,075 of 45,481 among boys' names (total births, highest first). Its last appearance in the data was 2017. 10 babies were born in 1922, its single highest year.
Where does Hancel sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Hancel ranks #19,075 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the null SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Hancel most popular? ▼
Hancel was most popular in the 1930s decade with 25 total births. The single peak year was 1922.
How long has the name Hancel been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Hancel since 1915 -- 103 years through the most recent 2017 data.
What names are similar to Hancel? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Hank, Hans, Hansel, Hanson, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Hancel's data

  • Hancel's decade-level peak was the 1930s (25 total births); usage has since declined to 6 in the 2010s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Hancel

Nearby Names Like Hancel

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Hancel

Hank Boy
#413 16,984 births
Hans Boy
#1324 15,677 births
Hansel Boy
#1637 3,631 births
Hanson Boy
#2995 1,839 births
Hansen Boy
#3321 887 births

Compare Hancel side by side: Hancel vs Hank Hancel vs Hans Hancel vs Hansel

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar number of total births

Finas
78 births · Peak 1916
Arling
78 births · Peak 1921
Fremon
78 births · Peak 1938
Vence
78 births · Peak 1955
Neils
78 births · Peak 1918
Hommer
78 births · Peak 1942
Kazuto
78 births · Peak 1919
Paublo
78 births · Peak 1928

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Hancel: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1915–2017 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Hancel draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.