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

Neller, 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 Neller surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Neller in America

Neller is the 61585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Neller surname appeared 326 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 Neller.

We can also compare 2010 data for Neller 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 Neller

The surname Neller is of German origin, first appearing in the late 13th century in the region of Bavaria. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "nele" or "nelde", which referred to the plant commonly known as dead-nettle. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational or descriptive surname for someone who worked with or lived near an abundance of this plant.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a Bavarian tax record from 1285, where a "Heinrich Neller" is listed as a landowner in the village of Ebersberg. The name also appears in various legal documents and land deeds throughout the 14th and 15th centuries in the towns of Augsburg, Munich, and Regensburg.

Interestingly, in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of diplomatic documents from Saxony dating back to the 12th century, there is a reference to a "Conradus Neller" from the town of Zwickau in 1296. This suggests that the name may have spread beyond its Bavarian origins at an early stage.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Neller, a Benedictine monk and scholar who lived in the late 15th century. He was born in Augsburg in 1450 and is noted for his contributions to the study of canon law and his work as a scribe, transcribing numerous ancient manuscripts during his lifetime.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various church records and tax rolls across southern Germany, with notable individuals including Hans Neller (1512-1578), a merchant and city councilor in Nuremberg, and Margaretha Neller (1540-1612), a prominent midwife in the town of Bamberg.

As the name spread beyond its Bavarian roots, it can be found in various other regions of Germany, including the Rhineland and Saxony. One notable bearer was Johann Christoph Neller (1670-1743), a renowned painter and portraitist from the town of Wolfenbüttel, who gained fame for his work at the courts of England and Spain.

While the name is predominantly German in origin, it has also been adopted in other countries through migration and intermarriage over the centuries. However, its earliest roots and most significant historical references can be traced back to the regions of Bavaria and southern Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Neller

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

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 Neller 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 Neller 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 Neller was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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