Show ContentsBrendel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient German region of the Rhineland was the original home of the ancestors of the Brendel surname. Brendel was a local name, a type of hereditary surname that identified people by the places where they lived. Landowners were the first to use local names, and they often attached the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from," to the surname. Often, the use of "von" was a mark of aristocratic birth. Local names are by far the most common style of German hereditary surname. Brendel was a name for someone who lived in the town name Brendli which was in the Unterwalden region of Germany. The surname Brendel is a habitation surname, which means that it was originally derived from a pre-existing name for a town, village, parish, or farmstead. Therefore, the surname Brendel denotes someone who was a resident of this township.

Early Origins of the Brendel family

The surname Brendel was first found in the Rhine region, where the name is considered to have made an early contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of early development in Europe. The name became prominent in local affairs as early as the 14th century, and branched into many houses. They played important roles in the savage tribal and national conflicts, as each group sought power and status in an ever-changing territorial profile.

Early History of the Brendel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brendel research. Another 46 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1582, 1811, 1844, 1852 and 1867 are included under the topic Early Brendel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brendel Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Brendel include Brendel, Brendeler, Brendler, Brendle, Brenndel and many more.

Early Notables of the Brendel family

Notables with the name Brendel during this period were

  • Daniel Brendel von Homburg (d. 1582), who was Archbishop and Elector of Mainz
  • Dr. Karl Franz Brendel was a musical critic, born Nov. 25, 1811, at Stollberg in the Harz; educated at the Gymnasium of Freiberg in Saxony, where his father was Berg-Rath, and at the universities of L...

Brendel Ranking

In the United States, the name Brendel is the 17,428th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1] However, in France, the name Brendel is ranked the 9,556th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. [2]


United States Brendel migration to the United States +

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans, including many Rhinelanders, made the voyage to North America between the 17th and 20th centuries. It was an escape from religious persecution and poverty and also an opportunity for people to start over and own their own land. Most landed at Ellis Island, off New York before moving on to the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, and California. Some also landed in Canada and settled in Ontario, while others headed west to the prairie provinces. A study of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of people bearing the name of Brendel, or one of its variants, reaching North America shores very early:

Brendel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Caspar Brendel, who arrived in New York, NY in 1710-1714 [3]
  • Johann Heinrich Brendel, who landed in Philadelphia in 1738
  • Hans Georg Brendel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 [3]
  • Geo Brendel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 [3]
  • George Brendel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Brendel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Leop Brendel, aged 17, who landed in New York in 1854 [3]
  • Andreas Brendel, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1882 [3]

Canada Brendel migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brendel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Franz Brendel, who settled in Canada in 1783 with the United Empire Loyalists

Contemporary Notables of the name Brendel (post 1700) +

  • Neal R. Brendel (1954-2021), American rugby union player and lawyer; he played at the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup and was presented with the Craig Sweeney Award for his service and contributions to the game and the Union
  • El Brendel (1890-1964), American entertainer
  • Harry L. Brendel, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Anderson, Indiana, 1934-38 [4]
  • Forest I. Brendel, American politician, Supervisor of White Lake Township, Michigan, 1935-55 [4]
  • Joachim Brendel, German fighter pilot and flying ace in the Luftwaffe, during World War II, credited with 189 aerial victories, awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
  • Wolfgang Brendel (b. 1947), German opera singer
  • Joachim Brendel (1921-1974), German Luftwaffe pilot recipient of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Otto Brendel (1901-1973), scholar of Etruscan art
  • Karl Brendel (1871-1925), German sculptor
  • Alfred Brendel (b. 1931), Austrian pianist of international reputation


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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