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

Pfahler, 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 Pfahler surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pfahler in America

Pfahler is the 38691st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pfahler surname appeared 571 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 Pfahler.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pfahler 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 Pfahler

The surname Pfahler is of German origin, with roots tracing back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "pfahlære," which referred to a person who constructed fences or palisades made from wooden stakes or posts. This occupation-based name was likely assigned to individuals who worked as fence builders or worked with wooden posts and stakes.

In the early days, the name was primarily concentrated in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. Historical records show variations in spelling, such as Pfähler, Pfaehler, and Pfeiler, which were common during the 16th and 17th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Kirchenbücher" (church records) of Nuremberg, which mentions a Johann Pfahler in 1594. Additionally, the name appears in the "Ortsfamilienbücher" (village family books) of various German towns during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Over the centuries, the Pfahler surname has been associated with several notable individuals. Johann Pfahler (1542-1617), a German Protestant theologian and church reformer, was among the early bearers of this name. Another prominent figure was Georg Pfahler (1688-1754), a German architect and master builder who contributed to the design of several churches and public buildings in his hometown of Bamberg.

In the 19th century, the Pfahler family had a significant presence in the German state of Saxony. Friedrich Pfahler (1801-1876), a celebrated painter and art professor, hailed from Dresden and was known for his landscapes and historical paintings. His contemporary, Karl Pfahler (1818-1892), was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Reichstag (German parliament) in the late 1800s.

Another notable bearer of the Pfahler name was Gustav Pfahler (1878-1941), a German-American physician and pioneer in the field of radiology. He made significant contributions to the development of diagnostic imaging techniques and served as the president of the American Roentgen Ray Society.

While the surname Pfahler has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, primarily due to immigration patterns in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pfahler

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

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

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

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