Metzler
A German occupational surname meaning “butcher,” originally referring to someone who sold or prepared meat.
The #5,239 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 46,379 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Metzler is a German occupational surname built on a word for a butcher or meat-seller. Historical sources connect it with Middle High German and related regional forms such as metzeler/metzler, ultimately from Late Latin macellarius, meaning a dealer in provisions or meat-market goods. In later German usage, the sense narrowed to “butcher.”
History
The surname appears especially in German-speaking areas, including southern and central Germany, and is closely related to the more common surname Metzger. English-language surname dictionaries from the 19th and early 20th centuries regularly gloss Metzler as “butcher,” showing that the occupational meaning was well established. It is less common than Metzger, but follows the same naming pattern from medieval trade and craft identities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The root behind Metzler is the same broad Latin word family that fed several European surnames for people who worked in or around the meat market.
From the historical record
“metzjer ; L.Lat. matiarius] METZLER (Ger.) Butcher [Rhen. Ger. metzler; ult. f. Lat. macellarius, provisioh- dealer— ffiace//«»j, provision or meat market] MEUNIER (Fr.) Miller [O.Fr. meulnier (S.Fr. molinier), Lat. molinarius] MEYER (Ger.) Steward, Bailiff; Farmer”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)