Hensel
A German surname that usually began as a pet form of Johannes or Heinrich.
The #6,291 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 56,870 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hensel is a German diminutive surname, most often understood as a pet form of Henne/Hans, and ultimately of Johannes (John). In some traditions it can also be connected with Heinrich, since German naming practice often reused short forms across related first names. The ending -el is a common German diminutive suffix, giving the sense of “little Hens” or “son of Hens” in an informal, affectionate way.
History
The historical sources place Hensel among the many German surnames built from short forms of Christian given names, especially Johannes. It is especially associated with German-speaking areas, including regions where -el diminutives were common in surnames. Related spellings such as Henschel and Hentschel show the same naming pattern with regional variation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same basic name element helped generate a whole family of surnames, including Hensel, Henschel, and Hentschel, with the ending changing by region and dialect.
From the historical record
“Verkleinerungsformen dagegen sind im ganzen seltener: Köbke (aus Jakob) und Jahnke (aus Johannes), denen Jäckel und Hensel gegenüber- stehen, weisen die Hauptform des niederdeutschen Deminutivs (mit dem Charakterlaute k) und des oberdeutschen (mit l) auf, während z bei den Fremd namen überhaupt nicht vertreten ist.…”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen