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Hansel

#1,638 in 2025Boys' name

Form of Hänsel

Hansel has been given to 3,636 babies in the U.S. since 1905. In 2025 it ranked #1,638 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 134 recorded.

Babies named Hansel, 2025

1 in 32,200

Hansel over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Hansel: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Hänsel

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Hansel means

Hansel is a form of Hänsel.

Origin, language, and formation

Hansel is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Hänsel.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,631 boys were recorded with the name Hansel between 1905 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 134 in 2021; its best national rank was #958 in 1905.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,782 in 2020 to #1,638 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,721 in 2015 to #1,638 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 girls were recorded with the name Hansel between 1921 and 1921. Its highest annual count was 5 in 1921; its best national rank was #5,444 in 1921.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Hansel?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 32,200
103 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 16,600
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,638
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
22,311 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Hansel sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 22,311 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Hansel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Hansels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Hansel was born before 1990 — so the typical Hansel is around 35 today.

Median birth year
1990
About 35 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
18.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
43.0%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
2,485
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 18.8% of all recorded uses (684).

Is Hansel rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+26
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+144
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+83
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.14×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
76.9%
Peak was 2021 (134)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
29.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#958
1905

Spellings of Hansel

Hansel is not the most common spelling — Daniel is, with 79.5% against Hansel's 0.15%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Hansel is used

Across 2016–2025, Hansel was most concentrated in Texas — about 1 in 10,000 boys, against 1 in 18,127 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 100,000).

110 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Texas1 in 10,000
  2. 2Florida1 in 14,286
  3. 3California1 in 16,667
  4. 4New York1 in 20,000
  5. 5New Jersey1 in 25,000
  6. 6Louisiana1 in 33,333
  7. 7Maryland1 in 33,333
  8. 8Alabama1 in 50,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Hansel around the world

Where Hansel ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,133
    in 2025
  • France
    1992–2023
    #5,570
    in 2023
  • Canada
    1998–2024
    #2,328
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1958–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Hansel

People whose public names include Hansel, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Hansel by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,638
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 144
Best rank ever
#958
1905
Peak year
2021
134 that year
First recorded
1905
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,631
Count in 2025
103

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#5,444
1921
Peak year
1921
5 that year
First recorded
1921
Last recorded
1921
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Hansel

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

HansonHansenHanleyDieselHaneefHanielEdselAnselHanifHanzelAkselRusselHannahHanadHansHannibalHankHaniHansselBasselHanBaselHandyHanan

Names with a curve like Hansel

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Hansel, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

HollandConwayRushNileLevyEllisonHamptonWestRansomArminCliveArley

Sibling names for Hansel

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Hansel

Top names of 2021, Hansel's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1905Boys' names starting with HGerman Names