The Adler surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 16,412 people carried this name — #2,223 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,000 people counted. That is up 1% from 16,305 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Adler surname
From Middle High German adler, adelar, adelare, equivalent to edel (“noble”) + Aar (“eagle”). When Aar started assuming a more general meaning of "bird of prey suitable for hunting or falconry", the term Adelaar (edler Aar) emerged to distinguish eagles from other hunting birds such as falcons and hawks.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Adler» (German), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
854 people named Adler have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 1,331 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 14 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
619 people named Adler live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 482 people named Adler.
145 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 42 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 406 people named Adler live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 95 people named Adler live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
1,105 people named Adler are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Adler in American newspapers,
1908–1915.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 209,237 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Adler,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Caspar Aquila 1488–1560 · theologian -
Jacob Georg Christian Adler 1756–1834 · writer -
Johan Gunder Adler 1784–1852 · politician -
Nathan Marcus Adler 1803–1890 · rabbi -
Samuel Adler 1809–1891 · rabbi
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 96 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Adler.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Adler is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.