2000
#5,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,963
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.21
Rare Last name
Geisler
An occupational surname referring to a goatherd or someone who tends to goats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,560 Americans carry the last name Geisler. That puts it at #5,823 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,249 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Geisler 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
6.6K
1 in 52,249
Census rank
#5,823
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,721 bearers of the surname Geisler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5823rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Geisler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Geisler
The surname GEISLER is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word 'geizler' or 'geizaere', which referred to a miser or stingy person. This name likely originated as a nickname for someone perceived as overly frugal or miserly.
The earliest known recorded instances of the GEISLER surname can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of present-day Germany, such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. During this period, the surname appeared in various spellings, including 'Geizler', 'Geysler', and 'Geissler'.
In the 15th century, the surname GEISLER can be found in historical records from the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Geisler was mentioned as a citizen in 1472. Another notable early bearer of the name was Johann Geisler, a prominent merchant and member of the town council in the town of Erfurt in the late 15th century.
The GEISLER surname also appears in the Berner Schilling, a chronicle of the city of Bern, Switzerland, from the 16th century, indicating that the name had spread beyond the borders of Germany by that time.
One of the earliest known individuals with the GEISLER surname was Veit Geisler, a German Protestant reformer and theologian who lived from 1499 to 1570. He was a prominent figure in the Reformation movement and authored several works on theology and biblical exegesis.
Another notable bearer of the GEISLER name was Christian Geisler, a German composer and organist who lived from 1658 to 1728. He was renowned for his organ compositions and served as the court organist in the city of Bayreuth.
In the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the GEISLER surname was Johann von Geisler, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1803 to 1870. He was known for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting scenes from the Bavarian Alps.
Other notable individuals with the GEISLER surname include Theodor Geisler, a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin in the late 19th century, and Max Geisler, a German politician and member of the Reichstag (the parliament of the German Empire) in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Geisler
Among Census respondents with the surname Geisler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Geisler 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 Geisler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 5,312
- Two or more races3.4% · 196
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 136
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 27
- Black or African American0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Geisler
Geisler 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
#5,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,185
+222 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 2.10
Rank movement Down 245 places
2020
#5,823
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,721
-464 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 1.91
Rank movement Down 201 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,377 | 5,963 | 2.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,622 | 6,185 | 2.10 | +222 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 245 places |
| 2020 | #5,823 | 5,721 | 1.91 | -464 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 201 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 Geisler 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 | #5,622 | #5,823 | -3.6% |
| Count | 6,185 | 5,721 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.10 | 1.91 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Geisler bearers went from 6,185 to 5,721 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 201 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,622 to #5,823.
FAQ
Geisler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Geisler?
Name Census estimates that about 6,560 living Americans carry the surname Geisler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,249 residents.
How common is Geisler?
Geisler ranks #5,823 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.91 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 5,721 people with the surname Geisler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,560), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.91 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 Geisler.
Has Geisler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Geisler went from 6,185 recorded bearers to 5,721. That is a decrease of 464 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,622 to #5,823.
What does the Census say about the background of Geisler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Geisler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Geisler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (5,312 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Geisler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Geisler (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 Geisler mean?
An occupational surname referring to a goatherd or someone who tends to goats. 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 Geisler (1.91 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 Geisler?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Geisler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.