The German surname Hummell is derived from a pet form of Humbert or Humbold (a compound name with the same first element + bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’). The name may also be a nickname for a busy or bustling person, from the Middle High German term hummel, meaning “busy.” The name is first recorded in Bavaria in 1778. The earliest recording in the New World is in 1709 when Hermann Hummel arrived in the port of New York from Bremen, Germany. Today there are approximately 15,000 bearers of the name Hummel in the United States. A notable bearer of the name was the German composer and musician Ferdinand Hummel (1855-1928).