Find out how popular the last name Kehler is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kehler.

Kehler, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kehler surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kehler in America

Kehler is the 20125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kehler surname appeared 1,327 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kehler.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kehler to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kehler

The surname Kehler has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Kehl," which means "throat" or "gorge," and may have been used as a nickname for someone with a distinctive voice or manner of speaking.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kehler can be found in the church records of the town of Kaiserslautern in the Palatinate region of Germany, where a Johann Kehler was listed as a resident in the year 1587. This suggests that the Kehler family may have been established in this area for several generations prior to that date.

In the 17th century, the name Kehler began to appear in other parts of Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. This could be attributed to the movement of people during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which caused significant displacement and migration throughout Europe.

One notable bearer of the Kehler name was Johann Christoph Kehler (1669-1732), a German composer and organist who served in the court of the Prince of Saxe-Weissenfels. His compositions, which included various church cantatas and instrumental works, were highly regarded during his lifetime.

Another Kehler of historical significance was Johann Georg Kehler (1745-1818), a German theologian and writer who authored several works on religious topics and served as a professor at the University of Göttingen.

In the 19th century, the Kehler surname began to spread beyond Germany, with some families migrating to other parts of Europe and North America. One such individual was Friedrich Kehler (1810-1885), a German immigrant to the United States who became a successful businessman and landowner in the state of Iowa.

Another prominent figure was Karl Kehler (1846-1919), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the former headquarters of the American Bible Society and the Church of the Blessed Sacrament.

As the Kehler name continued to disperse throughout the world, it encountered various spelling variations, such as Kehler, Kähler, and Keeler, which may have been influenced by regional dialects or transcription errors.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kehler

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kehler.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kehler was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kehler has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kehler was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kehler, please contact us.

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