2000
#9,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,308
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Schuller
An occupational surname denoting a teacher or schoolmaster, derived from the German word "Schuler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,539 Americans carry the last name Schuller. That puts it at #9,979 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,851 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schuller 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Schuller with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 96,851
Census rank
#9,979
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,086 bearers of the surname Schuller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9979th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuller, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schuller
The surname Schuller is of German origin, originating in the southern German regions during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "schuler," which means "village headman" or "mayor." The name likely referred to someone who held a position of authority or leadership in a village community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schuller can be found in the Deutsches Familiennamen-Lexikon (German Family Name Encyclopedia), where it is mentioned as a variant spelling of the name Schuler. This suggests that the name was already in use in the 14th or 15th century.
The name Schuller has also been found in various historical records and documents from the 16th and 17th centuries. For example, in the Württembergisches Klosterbuch (Württemberg Monastery Book) from 1556, there is a reference to a person named Claus Schuller, who was a resident of the town of Vaihingen an der Enz.
One notable bearer of the name was Johann Christoph Schuller, a German composer and organist who lived from 1598 to 1673. He was born in, and served as the organist at the St. Sebaldus Church in Nuremberg.
Another individual with this surname was Johann Jakob Schuller, a Swiss mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1689 to 1747. He made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Schuller was a German composer and music teacher who lived from 1832 to 1915. He composed numerous works for piano and orchestra and served as a music teacher in various schools in Germany.
Lastly, Karl Schuller was an Austrian painter who was born in 1871 and died in 1942. He was known for his landscapes and portraits, and his works are displayed in various museums in Austria and Germany.
While the surname Schuller originated in southern Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, with bearers of the name found in countries such as Switzerland, Austria, and the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schuller
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuller, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Schuller 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 Schuller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 2,808
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 119
- Two or more races2.9% · 88
- Black or African American1.0% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schuller
Schuller 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
#9,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,470
+162 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 295 places
2020
#9,979
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,086
-384 bearers (-11.1%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 604 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,080 | 3,308 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,375 | 3,470 | 1.18 | +162 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 295 places |
| 2020 | #9,979 | 3,086 | 1.03 | -384 bearers (-11.1%) | Down 604 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 Schuller 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 | #9,375 | #9,979 | -6.4% |
| Count | 3,470 | 3,086 | -11.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.18 | 1.03 | -12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schuller bearers went from 3,470 to 3,086 (-11.1% change). The surname moved down 604 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,375 to #9,979.
FAQ
Schuller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schuller?
Name Census estimates that about 3,539 living Americans carry the surname Schuller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,851 residents.
How common is Schuller?
Schuller ranks #9,979 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 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 3,086 people with the surname Schuller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,539), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 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 Schuller.
Has Schuller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schuller went from 3,470 recorded bearers to 3,086. That is a decrease of 384 (-11.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,375 to #9,979.
What does the Census say about the background of Schuller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuller, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Schuller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (2,808 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schuller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Schuller (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 Schuller mean?
An occupational surname denoting a teacher or schoolmaster, derived from the German word "Schuler." 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 Schuller (1.03 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 Schuller?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.