Find out how popular the last name Ahlers is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ahlers.

Ahlers, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ahlers surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ahlers in America

Ahlers is the 11146th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ahlers surname appeared 2,841 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ahlers.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ahlers to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ahlers

The surname Ahlers is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "ahal," which means "ear of corn" or "spike," suggesting that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked with grains or crops.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ahlers can be found in the records of the city of Bremen, where a certain Hinrich Ahlers was mentioned in a document from the year 1495. Another early record of the name comes from the town of Stade, where a man named Claus Ahlers was listed in a tax register from 1548.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Ahlers began to spread across various parts of northern Germany, with families bearing this surname appearing in towns and villages such as Lüneburg, Oldenburg, and Osnabrück. Some notable individuals with the surname Ahlers from this period include Johann Ahlers (1547-1622), a prominent merchant from Hamburg, and Anna Ahlers (1612-1678), a respected midwife who practiced in the city of Lübeck.

As the centuries progressed, the name Ahlers continued to be found in various German regions, with some families also migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. One noteworthy individual was Carl Ahlers (1809-1887), a German-American author and journalist who was born in Hanover and later emigrated to the United States, where he became a prominent figure in the German-American community.

Another individual of historical significance was August Ahlers (1837-1909), a German industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Ahlers AG textile company in Herford, which became one of the leading manufacturers of clothing in Germany during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In more recent times, the name Ahlers has been associated with several individuals in various fields, such as Hans-Joachim Ahlers (1922-2017), a German politician and member of the Bundestag, and Günther Ahlers (born 1939), a renowned German physicist and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

While the surname Ahlers has its roots in northern Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with families bearing this name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and various European nations. However, the name remains most prevalent in its regions of origin, particularly in the northern German states.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ahlers

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ahlers.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ahlers was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ahlers has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ahlers was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ahlers, please contact us.

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