2000
#6,215
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,068
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.88
Rare Last name
Fidler
An occupational surname for a player of the fiddle or violin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,512 Americans carry the last name Fidler. That puts it at #6,746 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,183 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fidler 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Fidler with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.5K
1 in 62,183
Census rank
#6,746
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,807 bearers of the surname Fidler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6746th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fidler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fidler
The surname Fidler is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "videler," which means "fiddler" or "one who plays the fiddle." The name likely emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, as a descriptive occupational surname for a musician or entertainer who played the fiddle.
The earliest known record of the name Fidler can be found in the Bavarian town of Nürnberg in the late 13th century, where a certain Cunrat der Videler was mentioned in a document from 1290. This suggests that the name was already well-established in parts of southern Germany by that time.
In England, the name first appears in the early 14th century, with references to individuals such as John le Fydeler (1327) and William le Fydeler (1332) in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. The spelling variations "Fydeler" and "Fytheler" were common in medieval English records.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fidler in its modern spelling comes from the 16th century, with a mention of a Thomas Fidler in the register of the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster, London, in 1558.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the Fidler surname, including:
1. Isaac Fidler (1688-1776), an English composer and organist who served as the organist of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Wolverhampton.
2. Johann Fidler (1765-1820), a German Romantic painter known for his landscape paintings and etchings.
3. Mary Ann Fidler (1804-1886), an English author and children's writer who published numerous books and stories in the 19th century.
4. John Fidler (1823-1900), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Sussex County Cricket Club in the mid-19th century.
5. Ernst Fidler (1876-1948), an Austrian architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Vienna, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
While the name Fidler has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, with various branches of the family establishing themselves in different countries over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fidler
Among Census respondents with the surname Fidler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Fidler 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 Fidler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 4,421
- Two or more races3.7% · 177
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 101
- Black or African American1.1% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fidler
Fidler 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
#6,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,068
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 449 places
2020
#6,746
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,807
-261 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 82 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,215 | 5,068 | 1.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,664 | 5,068 | 1.72 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 449 places |
| 2020 | #6,746 | 4,807 | 1.61 | -261 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 82 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 Fidler 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 | #6,664 | #6,746 | -1.2% |
| Count | 5,068 | 4,807 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.61 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fidler bearers went from 5,068 to 4,807 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 82 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,664 to #6,746.
FAQ
Fidler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fidler?
Name Census estimates that about 5,512 living Americans carry the surname Fidler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,183 residents.
How common is Fidler?
Fidler ranks #6,746 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.61 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 4,807 people with the surname Fidler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,512), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.61 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 Fidler.
Has Fidler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fidler went from 5,068 recorded bearers to 4,807. That is a decrease of 261 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,664 to #6,746.
What does the Census say about the background of Fidler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fidler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Fidler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (4,421 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fidler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Fidler (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 Fidler mean?
An occupational surname for a player of the fiddle or violin. 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 Fidler (1.61 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 Fidler?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.