Peeler
An occupational surname probably referring to someone who peeled bark, fruit, or other materials.
The #5,901 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,795 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Peeler is best understood as an occupational surname built from the verb peel, meaning to strip off a skin or outer layer. In historical English usage this could describe someone who peeled bark, fruit, or similar materials, and some early writers also connected it with stripping bark for tanning or other work. The ending -er marks the person who performed the action.
History
The name appears in medieval and early modern records in forms such as Thomas le Peeler, showing that it began as a descriptive job-name. Later surname writers treated it as an occupational name, though they sometimes noted that the exact trade could vary by region and context. It is now a relatively uncommon surname in the United States, but the form is straightforwardly English in structure.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 20th-century surname writer joked that a Peeler might have been a very respectable worker who peeled tree bark for a living.
From the historical record
“William Pedeleare, ibid. Thomas le Peeler. DO. William Pedman, Pipe Roll Ric. I. Johannes Fox, peadtr^ 1379: P. T. Yorks. p. 13.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)