2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dohler
A variation of Tholer, a locational name referring to someone from the town of Tolent near Nuremberg, Bavaria.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Dohler. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dohler 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Dohler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dohler, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dohler
The surname Dohler has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Dohle," which means "jackdaw." This suggests that the name may have been a descriptive nickname for someone with dark hair or a swarthy complexion, resembling the black feathers of the jackdaw bird.
The earliest recorded instances of the Dohler surname can be found in various German church records and tax rolls from the 1500s and 1600s. One notable mention is in the Kirchenbuch (church book) of Mühlhausen, Thuringia, dated 1589, which lists a Hans Dohler among the local residents.
In the 17th century, the surname appears to have spread to other parts of Germany, including Saxony and Bavaria. During this time, variations in spelling emerged, such as Doehler, Dohler, and Döhler.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Dohler surname was Johann Christoph Dohler, a German composer and organist born in Leipzig in 1628. He was a renowned musician and served as the organist at the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) in Leipzig from 1662 until his death in 1688.
Another notable figure was Johann Baptist Dohler, a German painter born in Bamberg in 1725. He was known for his religious and historical paintings, and his works can be found in various churches and galleries throughout Germany.
In the 19th century, the surname Dohler gained prominence with the birth of Theodor Dohler, a German-Russian pianist and composer. Born in Naples, Italy, in 1814, he was a virtuoso pianist and composed numerous works for the piano. He passed away in 1856 in Syracuse, New York, while on a concert tour in the United States.
A more recent bearer of the Dohler name was Franz Dohler, a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union party. He was born in 1904 in Oberwiesenthal, Saxony, and served as a member of the Bundestag (German parliament) from 1957 to 1969. He played a significant role in shaping post-war German politics and died in 1976 in Bonn.
Throughout history, the Dohler surname has been associated with various locations in Germany, such as the towns of Mühlhausen, Leipzig, Bamberg, and Oberwiesenthal. While the name's origins can be traced back several centuries, it continues to be a recognized surname in modern times, particularly in German-speaking regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dohler
Among Census respondents with the surname Dohler, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dohler 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 Dohler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 97
- Two or more races8.2% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dohler
Dohler 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,119 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+5 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,461 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 13,119 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.8%) | Up 5,461 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 Dohler 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 | #154,907 | #149,446 | 3.5% |
| Count | 105 | 110 | 4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dohler bearers went from 105 to 110 (+4.8% change). The surname moved up 5,461 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #149,446.
FAQ
Dohler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dohler?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Dohler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Dohler?
Dohler ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Dohler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Dohler.
Has Dohler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dohler went from 105 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 5 (+4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Dohler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dohler, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Dohler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dohler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Two or More Races (8.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Dohler (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 Dohler mean?
A variation of Tholer, a locational name referring to someone from the town of Tolent near Nuremberg, Bavaria. 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 Dohler (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Dohler?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.