Explore the Family Name Poehler

The meaning of Poehler

North German (Pöhler): 1. topographic name for someone who lived by a muddy pool, from an agent noun derived from Middle Low German pōl ‘(muddy) pool’. 2. from a shortened and altered pet form of a personal name formed with Old High German bald ‘bold, brave’. Compare Pohler. Some characteristic forenames: German Alfons, Dieter, Horst, Juergen, Otto.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Poehler in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Poehler saw a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. Ranked at 28,118 in 2000, it dropped to 30,222 in 2010, marking a 7.48% decrease in rank. The number of individuals with this last name also decreased from 802 to 775 during this decade, a reduction of approximately 3.37%. The proportion per 100,000 people using this surname dipped by 13.33%, starting from 0.3 in 2000 and decreasing to 0.26 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#28,118	#30,222	-7.48%
Count	802	775	-3.37%
Proportion per 100k	0.3	0.26	-13.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Poehler

The Ethnicity data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows interesting shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the Poehler surname. In 2000, a significant 95.39% of Poehlers identified as White; however, this figure slightly declined to 94.19% by 2010. There was no record of the surname among Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native communities during both census years. The percentage of those identifying as Hispanic grew by about 31.02%, increasing from 1.87% in 2000 to 2.45% in 2010. Similarly, those identifying with two or more races increased significantly by 78.83%, from 1.37% in 2000 to 2.45% in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.39%	94.19%	-1.26%
Two or More Races	1.37%	2.45%	78.83%
Hispanic	1.87%	2.45%	31.02%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.62%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%