2000
#9,235
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,248
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.20
Rare Last name
Scheller
A German occupational surname referring to a person who removes animal hides or shells hazelnuts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,445 Americans carry the last name Scheller. That puts it at #10,212 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,493 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scheller 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
3.4K
1 in 99,493
Census rank
#10,212
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,004 bearers of the surname Scheller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10212th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scheller, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scheller
The surname Scheller originated in Germany and dates back to the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the old German word "schelle," which means a small bell or chime. The name likely referred to a bell maker or someone who worked with bells, perhaps a bell ringer in a church or town.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Scheller can be found in the Frankfurt am Main tax records from the year 1387, where a certain "Heynrich Scheller" is listed as a resident. Another early reference is in the church records of Erfurt, Thuringia, from the year 1428, which mentions a "Hans Scheller."
In the 16th century, the surname Scheller began to spread across various regions of Germany, with notable individuals including Johann Scheller (1499-1566), a Protestant theologian and reformer from Saxony, and Christoph Scheller (1570-1650), a German physician and author from Saxony-Anhalt.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, several Schellers rose to prominence in various fields, such as Johann Scheller (1618-1683), a German jurist and law professor from Saxony, and Immanuel Johann Gerhard Scheller (1735-1803), a German philologist and lexicographer from Saxony-Anhalt, known for his work on the Latin language.
In the 19th century, one of the most notable individuals with the surname Scheller was Julius Scheller (1818-1885), a German botanist and plant collector from Saxony, who made significant contributions to the study of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts).
Other historical figures with the surname Scheller include Wilhelm August Scheller (1816-1890), a German educator and author from Saxony, and Friedrich Scheller (1817-1884), a German painter and illustrator from Saxony, known for his landscapes and illustrations of fairy tales.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scheller
Among Census respondents with the surname Scheller, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Scheller 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 Scheller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 2,773
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 94
- Two or more races2.7% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 37
- Black or African American0.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scheller
Scheller 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
#8,916
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,672
+424 bearers (+13.1%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Up 319 places
2020
#10,212
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,004
-668 bearers (-18.2%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 1,296 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,235 | 3,248 | 1.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,916 | 3,672 | 1.24 | +424 bearers (+13.1%) | Up 319 places |
| 2020 | #10,212 | 3,004 | 1.01 | -668 bearers (-18.2%) | Down 1,296 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 Scheller 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 | #8,916 | #10,212 | -14.5% |
| Count | 3,672 | 3,004 | -18.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.01 | -18.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scheller bearers went from 3,672 to 3,004 (-18.2% change). The surname moved down 1,296 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,916 to #10,212.
FAQ
Scheller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scheller?
Name Census estimates that about 3,445 living Americans carry the surname Scheller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,493 residents.
How common is Scheller?
Scheller ranks #10,212 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.01 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 3,004 people with the surname Scheller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,445), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.01 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 Scheller.
Has Scheller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scheller went from 3,672 recorded bearers to 3,004. That is a decrease of 668 (-18.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,916 to #10,212.
What does the Census say about the background of Scheller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scheller, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Scheller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (2,773 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scheller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Scheller (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 Scheller mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who removes animal hides or shells hazelnuts. 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 Scheller (1.01 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 surname Scheller?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.