Eilers
A North German surname that likely began as a patronymic from a short form of a personal name such as Eilert or Eilhard.
The #8,562 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 80,256 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Eilers is generally understood as a patronymic surname from a Germanic personal name, especially the short form Eilert or Eilhard. The element is often taken to reflect older Germanic name parts such as egin/ejn- or hard, though the older sources are not fully consistent and some details are uncertain. In practice, the surname means 'descendant of Eiler/Eilert' rather than describing a trade or place.
History
The name is especially associated with northern Germany and Frisian-speaking areas, where patronymic family names were common. Older surname dictionaries note related forms such as Eilers, Eilts, and Eils together as a family-name group built from the same personal-name base. In the United States, Eilers appears as an immigrant surname, often carried by German or Dutch families.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname studies group Eilers with several close variants, showing how one personal name could generate multiple family names in nearby dialects.
From the historical record
“Eilert, Eilt, m. ; fam. n., Eilerts, Eilers, Eilts, Eils (contraction of Egilhardt, Ailhardt) Fauke, m.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)