Hassel
Masculine
Hassel is an old American boy's name that happens to be a word in three languages: in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, hassel is the hazel tree. It is short, plainly spelled, and has the soft double s of the English hazel.
How old is the name Hassel?
Hassel first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Hassel alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 100 people named Hassel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hassel most popular?
Hassel peaked in 1925, reaching #1425 nationally. See the whole 1925 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Hassel
Our story of Hassel follows the hazel north. The same shrub is hazel in English, Hasel in German and hassel in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, one old Germanic word for a tree that grows at the edge of woods and fields and drops its nuts in autumn. Hassel is also a Norwegian surname, carried by the chemist Odd Hassel, who shared a Nobel Prize for showing how molecules settle into their three-dimensional shapes. An American first name spelled the same way stands at the far end of that line of letters, a tree's name worn by a boy.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Nobody has documented where Hassel as an American first name came from. Hassel and Hassell exist as surnames, and in the Scandinavian languages hassel is the ordinary word for the hazel tree, the same word as German Hasel and English hazel. Hazel itself has been a man's name too; Flannery O'Connor gave it to Hazel Motes, the hero of Wise Blood. No record says which of these roads, if any, led to Hassel.
Pronouncing Hassel
HASS-el
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with tassel.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 192527 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1425reached in 1925
- Change vs 1970
- 0.0%5 in 1974, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Hassels among us
people named Hassel are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Hassel sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short and plainly spelled, with one obvious way to say it.
- Shares its letters with the Scandinavian word for the hazel tree, so there is a real word behind it.
- Carried as a surname by a Nobel-winning chemist, Odd Hassel.
- It sounds exactly like hassle, and that pun will come up at school and at work; it is the kind of joke that wears out quickly.
- People who hear it will often write Hassell or Hassle, so it will need spelling out.
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Hassel
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Hassels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Hassel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hassel in 2025?
- Hassel is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Hassel with classmates?
- Hassel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More H names
The most-given names starting with H, all years combined.
Henry#5 · Harold#991 · Harry#775 · Howard#1002 · Hunter#130 · Herbert#2641 · Herman#2363 · Harvey#251
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hassel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hassel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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