2000
#10,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,731
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Zoller
A German occupational surname referring to a customs officer or toll collector.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,954 Americans carry the last name Zoller. That puts it at #11,651 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,031 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zoller 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
3.0K
1 in 116,031
Census rank
#11,651
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,576 bearers of the surname Zoller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11651st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zoller, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zoller
The surname Zoller has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Zoll," which means "toll" or "customs duty." This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who worked as a toll collector or customs official.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zoller can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. In this record, a man named Conradus Zoller is mentioned as a witness to a legal transaction.
The name Zoller has also been linked to various place names throughout Germany, such as Zollingen and Zollhaus, which further reinforces its connection to toll collection or customs duties. Some variations of the spelling include Zöller, Zollner, and Zollmann.
One notable individual bearing the surname Zoller was Hans Zoller, a German painter and engraver who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His works can be found in several museums across Europe.
Another significant figure was Johann Baptist Zoller, a Bavarian politician and jurist who lived from 1764 to 1842. He served as a member of the Bavarian parliament and played a role in the drafting of the Bavarian Civil Code.
In the 19th century, Carl Zoller (1833-1901) was a German entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Zoller Machine Works in Plochingen, which became a leading manufacturer of precision tools and machinery.
Among the more recent notable individuals with the surname Zoller is Franz Zoller (1896-1957), an Austrian film actor and director who appeared in several German and Austrian films during the early to mid-20th century.
Finally, Joseph Zoller (1921-2008) was a German-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Zoller Corporation, a successful manufacturer of precision measuring tools and equipment based in Pennsylvania.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zoller
Among Census respondents with the surname Zoller, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Zoller 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 Zoller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 2,320
- Two or more races4.0% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 41
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zoller
Zoller 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
#11,746
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,667
-64 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 1,021 places
2020
#11,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,576
-91 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Up 95 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,725 | 2,731 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,746 | 2,667 | 0.90 | -64 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 1,021 places |
| 2020 | #11,651 | 2,576 | 0.86 | -91 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 95 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 Zoller 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 | #11,746 | #11,651 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,667 | 2,576 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.86 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zoller bearers went from 2,667 to 2,576 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 95 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,746 to #11,651.
FAQ
Zoller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zoller?
Name Census estimates that about 2,954 living Americans carry the surname Zoller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,031 residents.
How common is Zoller?
Zoller ranks #11,651 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,576 people with the surname Zoller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,954), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Zoller.
Has Zoller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zoller went from 2,667 recorded bearers to 2,576. That is a decrease of 91 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,746 to #11,651.
What does the Census say about the background of Zoller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zoller, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Zoller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (2,320 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zoller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Zoller (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 Zoller mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a customs officer or toll collector. 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 Zoller (0.86 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 Zoller?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.