Explore the Family Name Schaller

The meaning of Schaller

1. German: nickname from Middle High German schallære ‘braggart, orator, babbler’. It is also found in Czechia. 2. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from an agent derivative of German schallen ‘to sound’, one of the surnames based on the German vocabulary words that were randomly assigned by Austrian clerks to Jews of the Habsburg Empire. 3. Germanized form of Slovenian Žalar (see Zalar) and of its variant Žaler. Some characteristic forenames: German Gunther, Kurt, Franz, Gerda, Heinz, Hermann, Horst, Lorenz, Markus, Otto, Ulrich.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Schaller saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Schaller ranked as the 5497th most popular surname in the United States, but by 2010, it had dropped to the 5873rd position — a change of -6.84%. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of individuals with the surname increased from 5,815 to 5,875, equating to a growth of 1.03%. However, its proportion per 100k people decreased by -7.87%, from 2.16 to 1.99.

20002010Change
Rank#5,497#5,873-6.84%
Count5,8155,8751.03%
Proportion per 100k2.161.99-7.87%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Schaller

Discussing the ethnic identity associated with the surname Schaller, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census showed some shifts between 2000 and 2010. The largest group remained those identifying as White, although their percentage slightly decreased from 96.08% to 95.13%. The group seeing the biggest increase was the Asian/Pacific Islander category, which nearly doubled from 0.34% to 0.66%. Those identifying as Black, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native also saw increases in their percentages, while the group identifying as two or more races experienced a small decline from 1.48% to 1.40%.

20002010Change
White96.08%95.13%-0.99%
Hispanic1.48%1.86%25.68%
Two or More Races1.48%1.4%-5.41%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.34%0.66%94.12%
Black0.29%0.49%68.97%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.33%0.46%39.39%

Schaller 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 Schaller is French & German, which comprises 41.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (32.4%) and Eastern European (7.1%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
French & German41.9%
British & Irish32.4%
Eastern European7.1%
Other18.6%
Schaller

Possible origins of the surname Schaller

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 Schaller have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom68.20%
Merseyside, United Kingdom68.20%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom68.20%
Greater London, United Kingdom68.20%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom68.20%

What Schaller 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 Schaller is G-PF3345, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup G-PF3345 is descended from haplogroup G-M201. Other common haplogroups include I-Z138 and I-Z58, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Schaeffer, Roth, Hofmann, Schmidt, Singer, Huber, Beckman, Becker, Weber, Mayer.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Schaller surname are: H1, H3, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

schallerPaternal Haplogroup Origins G-M201
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Ötzi the Iceman

Ötzi the Iceman was discovered in 1991, protruding from a snow-bank high in the Alps near the Austrian-Italian border. His 5,300-year-old remains turned out to be so well preserved that researchers were able to construct a detailed account of his life and death. Chemical analysis of Ötzi's teeth indicates he came from the Italian side of the Alps. He had suffered during the year before his death with whipworm, a stomach parasite that was found in his digestive tract. Yet he was fit enough to climb 6,500 feet in elevation during the day or two before he met his end in a rocky alpine hollow. Ötzi apparently was murdered, struck by a stone arrow point that was found lodged in his left shoulder. The twisted position of his body indicates that the murderer, or one of his accomplices, pulled the arrow's shaft out of Ötzi's prone body.Yet whoever killed Ötzi did not take the valuable and finely wrought copper axe that he carried with him — an indicator that at the age of 45, the Ice Man may have been a figure of some importance in his community. Recently, scientists who were able to extract DNA from Ötzi's remains discovered that he belonged to a paternal lineage that stems from haplogroup G-M201. Today, Ötzi's lineage reaches its highest levels in Sardinia and Corsica, and was once common among early European farmers.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Schaller 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

Schaller

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Schaller" Surname 52.0%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Schaller

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Schaller" Surname 18.9%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Schaller

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Schaller" Surname 12.3%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Schaller

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Schaller" Surname 20.4%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Schaller?

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 Schaller are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

French & German 60.8%

23andMe Users 57.2%