Family name Ратцель (Ratzel 
, Ратцель 
) , globally, is quite a rare surname. The surname Ратцель is habitual in Western Europe, particularly Germany, where it is quite a rare surname, Austria, where it is a rare surname, and France. Measured by absolute frequency, it most frequently occurs in Germany, the United States, and France. Much less frequently, Ратцель is the forename as well as the last name.