2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Spiehler
A German surname derived from the word "spieler" meaning "player" or "performer".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Spiehler. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spiehler 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Spiehler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spiehler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spiehler
The surname Spiehler originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It likely derived from an occupational name for someone who worked with spies or spears. The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to the 13th century in the region of Bavaria.
One of the first documented references to the Spiehler name can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Bavaria, from the year 1327. The record mentions a certain Heinrich Spiehler, who was a local merchant and landowner. This suggests that the Spiehler family held a prominent position in the community at that time.
In the 15th century, a branch of the Spiehler family settled in the town of Nürnberg, which was a center of trade and commerce in the Holy Roman Empire. The name appears in various municipal records and tax rolls from this period, indicating their continued status as affluent citizens.
During the 16th century, the Spiehler name began to spread beyond Germany, with some members of the family emigrating to neighboring regions. In 1532, a man named Hans Spiehler was recorded as a resident of Strasbourg, a city in the Alsace region of modern-day France.
One of the most notable figures with the Spiehler surname was Johann Spiehler, a German Protestant theologian and reformer who lived from 1483 to 1547. He played a significant role in the Reformation movement and was a close associate of Martin Luther.
Another prominent individual was Wilhelm Spiehler (1628-1691), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Imperial Court of Justice in Frankfurt. His treatises on Roman law and legal principles were highly influential during his time.
In the 18th century, the name Spiehler is recorded in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. One such individual was Friedrich Spiehler (1722-1795), a notable composer and organist from Dresden, who composed several works for the Dresden court.
As the Spiehler family continued to spread across Europe, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Spiehler, Spiegler, and Spiehler. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spiehler
Among Census respondents with the surname Spiehler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Spiehler 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 Spiehler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spiehler
Spiehler appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,644 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 3,644 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 Spiehler 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 | #157,234 | #153,590 | 2.3% |
| Count | 103 | 104 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 16.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spiehler bearers went from 103 to 104 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,644 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #153,590.
FAQ
Spiehler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spiehler?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Spiehler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Spiehler?
Spiehler ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Spiehler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Spiehler.
Has Spiehler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spiehler went from 103 recorded bearers to 104. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Spiehler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spiehler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Spiehler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spiehler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Spiehler (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 Spiehler mean?
A German surname derived from the word "spieler" meaning "player" or "performer". 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 Spiehler (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Spiehler?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.