2000
#14,422
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,899
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Eiler
A German occupational surname referring to a potter or tile maker, derived from the Middle High German "iler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,490 Americans carry the last name Eiler. That puts it at #13,406 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,652 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eiler 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
2.5K
1 in 137,652
Census rank
#13,406
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,171 bearers of the surname Eiler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13406th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eiler
The surname EILER is of German origin, originating in the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Middle High German word "eile," meaning "haste" or "hurry," potentially suggesting that the original bearer of the name was known for their swiftness or sense of urgency.
EILER is believed to have been initially concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia, where it first emerged as a descriptive surname. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of Augsburg, a city in southern Germany, dating back to the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and local registers across southern Germany. Notable examples include Johann Eiler, a blacksmith born in Nuremberg in 1621, and Anna Eiler, a resident of Munich, whose birth was recorded in 1654.
As the surname spread throughout Germany over the centuries, it also evolved into several variations, such as Eiller, Eylert, and Eilert. These spellings were often influenced by regional dialects and local scribes' interpretations.
One of the earliest prominent figures associated with the name was Georg Eiler, a German theologian and author born in Naumburg in 1665. His works, including "Commentarius in Apocalypsin" (1689), gained him recognition in theological circles of the time.
Another notable EILER was Johann Eiler, a German composer and organist born in Zwönitz, Saxony, in 1780. He is best known for his contributions to church music and his role as the organist at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.
In the 19th century, the EILER name found its way to other parts of Europe and eventually across the Atlantic. One example is Karl Eiler, a German-American architect born in Cologne in 1857, who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Ansonia Hotel and the Western Union Building.
As the name spread globally through emigration, it continued to be associated with various professions and achievements. For instance, August Eiler, a German-American brewer born in Hesse in 1836, founded the Eiler Brewing Company in Baltimore, which became one of the largest breweries in the city during the late 19th century.
Another significant figure was Katharine Eiler, an American artist and teacher born in Milwaukee in 1885. She gained recognition for her landscape paintings and her work as an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eiler
Among Census respondents with the surname Eiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Eiler 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 Eiler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 1,985
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 77
- Two or more races3.0% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 21
- Black or African American0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eiler
Eiler 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
#7,560
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,397
+2,498 bearers (+131.5%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Up 6,862 places
2020
#13,406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,171
-2,226 bearers (-50.6%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 5,846 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,422 | 1,899 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,560 | 4,397 | 1.49 | +2,498 bearers (+131.5%) | Up 6,862 places |
| 2020 | #13,406 | 2,171 | 0.73 | -2,226 bearers (-50.6%) | Down 5,846 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 Eiler 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 | #7,560 | #13,406 | -77.3% |
| Count | 4,397 | 2,171 | -50.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.49 | 0.73 | -51.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eiler bearers went from 4,397 to 2,171 (-50.6% change). The surname moved down 5,846 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,560 to #13,406.
FAQ
Eiler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eiler?
Name Census estimates that about 2,490 living Americans carry the surname Eiler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,652 residents.
How common is Eiler?
Eiler ranks #13,406 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,171 people with the surname Eiler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,490), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Eiler.
Has Eiler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eiler went from 4,397 recorded bearers to 2,171. That is a decrease of 2,226 (-50.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,560 to #13,406.
What does the Census say about the background of Eiler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Eiler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (1,985 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eiler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Eiler (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 Eiler mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a potter or tile maker, derived from the Middle High German "iler." 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 Eiler (0.73 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 are called Eiler?
Find out how many people are called Eiler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.