Hartzell
An Americanized Pennsylvania German surname, likely a spelling shift from a German form such as Hirtzel or Hertzell.
The #5,361 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,543 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Hartzell appears to be an Americanized form of a German name, with historical evidence pointing to spellings such as Hirtzel or Hertzell. The change from Hirtzel/Hertzell to Hartzell is a typical Pennsylvania German spelling adjustment in English-speaking America. The deeper root is not fully certain from the available sources, so the safest explanation is that it reflects a regional German surname reshaped in spelling and pronunciation after immigration.
History
19th- and early-20th-century writers on Pennsylvania German names noted Hartzell as a familiar Americanized surname. The form is especially associated with Pennsylvania German communities, where many surnames were simplified or respelled to fit English usage. The name is now well established in the United States, though its original German spelling may vary by family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1902 Pennsylvania German name study explicitly lists Hartzell among surnames that had become so familiar in America that their foreign origin was easy to miss.
From the historical record
“324 Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names. Hertzell becomes Hartzell. Similar to this is the change of Spengler to Sp angler. Interesting also is the tendency to introduce an extra syllable between certain consonants, as Minich for Muench, Sherrick for Sherk, Widener for Waidner, Keneagy for Gnege.”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names