Explore the Family Name Spiller
The meaning of Spiller
1. English: occupational name from Middle English spiler(e), speler(e) (Old English spilere) ‘player of games, jester’, perhaps also meaning ‘master of the revels’. 2. English: perhaps an occupational name from an unrecorded Middle English spiler, speler ‘maker of spills’, a derivative of Middle English spile, spele ‘fragment of wood, splinter’. A spill, in this sense, was a splinter of wood or small piece of paper, used to light a candle or a fire. 3. English: occasionally perhaps a nickname from Middle English spiller ‘one who causes ruin’, hence a destructive or wasteful person, such as William Spillbrede ‘spoil (or waste) bread’ (13th century). However, none of these phrasal names seem to have survived as a surname. 4. English: variant of Speller 1. 5. German: occupational name for a spindle maker, a variant of Spille with the addition of the agent suffix -er. 6. German: variant of Spieler, a cognate of 1 above. 7. Czech (Špiller): variant of Špillar (see Spillar 2), a cognate of German Spieler and of Slovenian name in 8 below. In North America, the surname Spiller may also be an altered form of the less common Czech variant Špiler. 8. Americanized form of Slovenian Špiler: occupational name for a player, a musician, from Middle High German spilære (see Spieler). Compare Spillar 3.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Spiller in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Spiller witnessed a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 6,150th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had slipped to 6,304th. Despite this dip in rank, the actual count of people with the Spiller surname increased by 5.61%, from 5,130 individuals in 2000 to 5,418 in 2010. However, the proportion of Spillers per 100k people slightly declined by 3.16%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,150 | #6,304 | -2.5% |
| Count | 5,130 | 5,418 | 5.61% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.9 | 1.84 | -3.16% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Spiller
As for the ethnicity breakdown of the surname Spiller, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some interesting shifts from 2000 to 2010. The percentage of Spillers identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander almost doubled, increasing by 58.62%. Those reporting two or more races also saw a significant increase of 71.32%. Meanwhile, the proportion of Spillers identifying as White decreased by 3.22%. Hispanic Spillers experienced a rise of 19.03%, while those who identified as Black saw a modest increase of 2.30%. Lastly, the American Indian and Alaskan Native Spillers saw an increase of 20% over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 68.87% | 66.65% | -3.22% |
| Black | 26.94% | 27.56% | 2.3% |
| Hispanic | 2.26% | 2.69% | 19.03% |
| Two or More Races | 1.29% | 2.21% | 71.32% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.29% | 0.46% | 58.62% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.35% | 0.42% | 20% |
Spiller 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 Spiller is British & Irish, which comprises 51.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (20.5%) and Nigerian (5.1%). Additional ancestries include Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, Eastern European, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, and Scandinavian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 51.5% |
| French & German | 20.5% |
| Nigerian | 5.1% |
| Other | 22.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Spiller
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 Spiller have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 81.60% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 81.60% |
What Spiller 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 Spiller is C-Z5900, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup C-Z5900 is descended from haplogroup C-M130. Other common haplogroups include I-M170 and R-L21, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Hunter, George, Smith, Zwick, Ney, Nice, Nicely, Earp, Earls, Earhart.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Spiller surname are: H1, H, L3. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins C-M130Your 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.
What do people with the surname Spiller 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.
"Spiller" Surname 33.3%
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.
"Spiller" Surname 24.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Spiller" Surname 14.3%
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.
"Spiller" Surname 19.6%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Spiller?
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 Spiller are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition