2000
#15,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,782
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.66
Rare Last name
Iler
An anglicized form of the German surname Eiler, meaning "diligent" or "industrious."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,886 Americans carry the last name Iler. That puts it at #16,901 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 181,736 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Iler 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
1.9K
1 in 181,736
Census rank
#16,901
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,645 bearers of the surname Iler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16901st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Iler, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Iler
The surname ILER has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old High German word "ilo," which means "descendant" or "son." This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a patronymic, indicating a person's lineage or ancestry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ILER appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 12th century. In this record, a certain "Ilerus de Witteberge" is mentioned, indicating that the name was in use in the region now known as Wittenberg, Germany.
During the 13th century, the name ILER can be found in various records from the German states of Bavaria and Saxony. For instance, a document from 1265 refers to a "Heinricus Ilere" from the town of Würzburg, in present-day Bavaria.
By the 14th century, the name had spread to other parts of Europe, including the Low Countries (present-day Belgium and the Netherlands). In a Dutch manuscript dated 1348, a man named "Jan Iler" is mentioned as a resident of the city of Leiden.
One notable individual bearing the surname ILER was Hans Iler (1480-1547), a German theologian and reformer who was a follower of Martin Luther. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation movement and wrote several influential works on religious doctrine.
Another historical figure with this surname was Johann Iler (1590-1655), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Leipzig. He authored several treatises on Roman law and civil procedure that were widely studied in his time.
In the 17th century, the name ILER appeared in records from the German state of Hesse, where a man named Georg Iler (1620-1688) was a prominent landowner and magistrate in the town of Kassel.
The 18th century saw the emergence of Johann Friedrich Iler (1715-1782), a German composer and organist who was renowned for his keyboard works and contributions to the development of the Empfindsamer Stil (sensitive style) in music.
Lastly, in the 19th century, Carl Iler (1825-1901) was a German-American entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Iler Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which became one of the largest breweries in the United States during the late 1800s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Iler
Among Census respondents with the surname Iler, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Iler 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 Iler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 1,474
- Two or more races3.6% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 51
- Black or African American3.0% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Iler
Iler 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
#15,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,830
+48 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 705 places
2020
#16,901
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,645
-185 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 1,012 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,184 | 1,782 | 0.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,889 | 1,830 | 0.62 | +48 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 705 places |
| 2020 | #16,901 | 1,645 | 0.55 | -185 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 1,012 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 Iler 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 | #15,889 | #16,901 | -6.4% |
| Count | 1,830 | 1,645 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.55 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Iler bearers went from 1,830 to 1,645 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 1,012 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,889 to #16,901.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Iler
FAQ
Iler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Iler?
Name Census estimates that about 1,886 living Americans carry the surname Iler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 181,736 residents.
How common is Iler?
Iler ranks #16,901 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.55 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 1,645 people with the surname Iler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,886), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.55 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 Iler.
Has Iler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Iler went from 1,830 recorded bearers to 1,645. That is a decrease of 185 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,889 to #16,901.
What does the Census say about the background of Iler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Iler, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Iler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (1,474 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Iler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Iler (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 Iler mean?
An anglicized form of the German surname Eiler, meaning "diligent" or "industrious." 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 Iler (0.55 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 share the surname Iler?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.