2000
#9,068
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,315
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Beiler
Derived from the German word "Beil," meaning axe, likely referring to an ancestor who made or used axes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,925 Americans carry the last name Beiler. That puts it at #4,941 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,250 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beiler surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
7.9K
1 in 43,250
Census rank
#4,941
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,911 bearers of the surname Beiler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4941st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Two or More Races (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beiler
The surname BEILER is of German origin, specifically from the Bavarian region. It is believed to have originated in the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Beilen," which means "to hew" or "to chop," referring to a woodcutter or a lumberjack.
The earliest recorded instances of the name BEILER can be found in various German and Bavarian records from the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable example is Johann BEILER, a farmer and woodcutter who lived in the village of Schwandorf, Bavaria, in the late 16th century.
Another early reference to the name BEILER can be found in the church records of Regensburg, a city in Bavaria, where a certain Hans BEILER is mentioned as a resident in the year 1621.
During the 18th century, the BEILER surname began to spread beyond Bavaria as people migrated to other parts of Germany and Europe. One prominent figure from this time was Johann Friedrich BEILER, a Lutheran pastor who lived in Saxony between 1712 and 1786.
In the 19th century, the BEILER name also found its way to North America, particularly in the United States and Canada, as German immigrants sought new opportunities in the New World. One notable BEILER from this era was Johann Heinrich BEILER, who was born in Hesse, Germany, in 1824 and later emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he worked as a farmer and carpenter.
Another significant figure was Jacob BEILER, born in 1832 in Baden, Germany. He immigrated to Canada in the 1850s and became a successful farmer and businessman in the province of Ontario.
Other notable individuals with the surname BEILER include:
1. Wilhelm BEILER (1847-1922), a German writer and poet from Bavaria.
2. Margarethe BEILER (1876-1947), a German painter and artist known for her landscape paintings.
3. Theodor BEILER (1889-1965), a German-American scientist and engineer who worked on the development of early aviation technology.
4. Hans BEILER (1905-1984), a German-Swiss architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Zurich and Basel.
5. Ingrid BEILER (1933-2018), a German author and children's book writer who published numerous works in the latter half of the 20th century.
While the BEILER surname has its roots in Bavaria and other parts of Germany, it has since spread worldwide, carried by generations of emigrants and their descendants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beiler
Among Census respondents with the surname Beiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Two or More Races (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Beiler bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Beiler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.9% · 6,769
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 90
- Two or more races0.5% · 36
- Black or African American0.1% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beiler
Beiler appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,549
+3,234 bearers (+97.6%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Up 3,745 places
2020
#4,941
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,911
+362 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 2.31
Rank movement Up 382 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,068 | 3,315 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,323 | 6,549 | 2.22 | +3,234 bearers (+97.6%) | Up 3,745 places |
| 2020 | #4,941 | 6,911 | 2.31 | +362 bearers (+5.5%) | Up 382 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Beiler surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,323 | #4,941 | 7.2% |
| Count | 6,549 | 6,911 | 5.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.22 | 2.31 | 4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beiler bearers went from 6,549 to 6,911 (+5.5% change). The surname moved up 382 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,323 to #4,941.
FAQ
Beiler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beiler?
Name Census estimates that about 7,925 living Americans carry the surname Beiler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,250 residents.
How common is Beiler?
Beiler ranks #4,941 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,911 people with the surname Beiler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,925), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Beiler.
Has Beiler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beiler went from 6,549 recorded bearers to 6,911. That is an increase of 362 (+5.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,323 to #4,941.
What does the Census say about the background of Beiler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Beiler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (6,769 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beiler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.9%), Hispanic (1.3%), Two or More Races (0.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Beiler (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Beiler mean?
Derived from the German word "Beil," meaning axe, likely referring to an ancestor who made or used axes. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Beiler (2.31 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Beiler?
Find out how many people are called Beiler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.