Vogler
A German surname most often meaning “birdcatcher” or “fowler,” from Vogel “bird” plus an occupational ending.
The #8,801 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 82,974 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Vogler is generally explained in German as an occupational name built from Vogel, meaning “bird,” plus the agent suffix -er, giving the sense “one who deals with birds” or “birdcatcher/fowler.” Older sources also gloss it more broadly as a name connected with birds or bird-hunting. The form is closely related to Vogel and to dialect spellings such as Vogl.
History
The name is well established in German-speaking areas and appears in older surname collections as a fairly ordinary German occupational byname. It likely arose independently in multiple places wherever a bird-related trade or nickname was useful. Outside German-speaking countries, spellings may have been simplified or altered, but the basic form remains recognizably German.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname writers grouped Vogler with hunting and bird-catching names such as Falkner and Finkler, showing how closely medieval jobs and nicknames could overlap.
From the historical record
“Foreign Names. VOGLER (Ger.) Fowler: v. the Appendix of Foreign Names. VOGT (Ger.) Overseer ; Bailiff ; Provost : V. the Appendix of Foreign Names. VOISEY (Fr.) Bel. to Voisey (Haute-Marne), A.D. 1162 Voisie [sufl. early forms upon which to come to a definite etymol. con- clusion are not forthcoming : phonetically…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)