Weiler
A German surname meaning someone from a small settlement or hamlet.
The #3,515 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 30,388 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Weiler is a German habitational surname from the common place-word weiler, meaning a small village, hamlet, or isolated farmstead. The word goes back to Middle High German wiler and older German forms ultimately linked to Late Latin villare / villa, “country house” or “estate.” In surname use, it typically identified someone who came from, or lived near, a place called Weiler.
History
The name is widespread in German-speaking areas, especially in the southwest, and there are many places called Weiler, Ahrweiler, Eschweiler, and similar forms. Historical surname dictionaries also note variant spellings such as Wiler and Wyler, especially in Swiss and regional usage. In immigrant communities, Weiler often remained unchanged, though pronunciation could vary by local language.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
German place-names ending in -weiler often point to very old settlements, not just modern villages.
From the historical record
“^wila, f. Lat. villa (Fr. ville\ WEILER (Ger.) Bel. to Weiler = the Village, Hamlet [Ger. weiler, M.H.Ger. \wller, O.H.Ger. wildri; L.Lat. villari-us': see Villiers in Diet.] WEINBERG (Ger.) Vineyard (on a hill) [Ger. ivein, wine, vine; M.H.Ger. O.H.Ger.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)