Explore the Family Name Geller
The meaning of Geller
1. North German: habitational name from the North German town of Geldern or from the Dutch province of Gelderland, earlier Geler. Both places get their names from what may be an ancient element descriptive of marshland. 2. German: occupational name for a town crier, Middle High German gellære (from gellen ‘to shout, yell’), or a nickname for a vocal person. 3. German: variant of Gehler. 4. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a man with red hair, from the strong form of Yiddish gel ‘red-headed’ (from Middle High German gel ‘yellow’). See also Gell. 5. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant of Heller, originating under Russian influence, since Russian has no h and alters it to g in borrowed words and names. 6. Hungarian: variant of Gellért (see Gellert). 7. English: probably a variant of Guiler. Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Hyman, Moishe, Moysey, Sholom, Ari, Avrum, Chaim, Eliyahu, Esfir, Rina.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Geller in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Geller witnessed a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. The surname ranked 5086 in 2000 and slipped to rank 5139 by 2010, indicating a marginal popularity decline of 1.04%. However, the number of individuals carrying the Geller surname increased from 6331 in 2000 to 6810 in 2010, signifying a growth of 7.57%. The proportion of the Geller surname per 100k people also saw a minor drop from 2.35 in 2000 to 2.31 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,086 | #5,139 | -1.04% |
| Count | 6,331 | 6,810 | 7.57% |
| Proportion per 100k | 2.35 | 2.31 | -1.7% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Geller
Regarding the ethnicity associated with the surname Geller, data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals a shift between 2000 and 2010. People identifying as White made up the majority of those with the Geller surname, though their percentage decreased slightly from 96.10% in 2000 to 94.90% in 2010. The representation of Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Black ethnic identities among Gellers increased during this period. Asian/Pacific Islanders grew from 0.43% to 0.72%, Hispanics from 1.55% to 2.48%, and Blacks from 0.47% to 0.59%. There was a modest increase of individuals identifying with two or more races, from 1.15% to 1.16%. Interestingly, the American Indian and Alaskan Native category experienced a decline, dropping from 0.30% in 2000 to 0.15% in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 96.1% | 94.9% | -1.25% |
| Hispanic | 1.55% | 2.48% | 60% |
| Two or More Races | 1.15% | 1.16% | 0.87% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.43% | 0.72% | 67.44% |
| Black | 0.47% | 0.59% | 25.53% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.3% | 0.15% | -50% |
Geller ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Geller is Ashkenazi Jewish, which comprises 52.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (18.2%) and French & German (11.0%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Scandinavian, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 52.5% |
| British & Irish | 18.2% |
| French & German | 11.0% |
| Other | 18.3% |
Possible origins of the surname Geller
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Geller have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 36.00% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 36.00% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 35.60% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 35.60% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 35.20% |
What Geller haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Geller is R-CTS6, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS6 is descended from haplogroup R-M420. Other common haplogroups include J-CTS5368 and J-M92, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Goldstein, Weiner, Gold, Schwartz, Goldberg, Feldman, Berman, Stern, Weiss, Solomon.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Geller surname are: K1a1b1a, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M420Your maternal lineage may be linked to many people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent
A few branches of haplogroup K, such as K1a9, K2a2a, and K1a1b1a, are specific to Jewish populations and especially to Ashkenazi Jews, whose roots lie in central and eastern Europe. These branches of haplogroup K are found at levels of 30% among the Ashkenazim. But they are also found at lower levels in Jewish populations from the Middle East and Africa, and among Sephardic Jews who trace their roots to medieval Spain. That indicates an origin of those K haplogroup branches in the Middle East before 70 AD, when the Roman destruction of Jerusalem scattered the Jewish people around the Mediterranean and beyond.About 1.7 million Ashkenazi Jews living today (nearly 20% of the population) share a single branch of the K haplogroup, K1a1b1a. The diversity of that haplogroup suggests that it arose in the Middle East between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago, and that everyone who shares it today could descend from a woman who lived as recently as 700 years ago. A similar pattern in two other K branches, K1a9 and K2a2, as well as the N1b branch of haplogroup N, has led researchers to conclude that 40% of the Ashkenazim living today – about 3.4 million people – could descend from as few as four women who lived within the last 2,000 years.
What do people with the surname Geller have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Geller" Surname 40.8%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Geller" Surname 22.4%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Geller" Surname 15.5%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Geller" Surname 16.6%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Geller?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Geller are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition