Wheeler
An occupational surname for a wheelwright—someone who made or repaired wheels and carts.
The #243 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,469 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wheeler comes from Middle English words for a wheel-maker, ultimately from Old English hwēol, meaning “wheel,” plus the agent suffix -ere, “one who does a job.” In its original sense, it referred to a wheelwright or cart-maker. The surname was often Latinized in medieval records as Rotarius, another occupational term for a wheel-maker.
History
This was a common English occupational surname in the Middle Ages and is recorded early as Richard le Whelere in 1347. It spread widely in England and later to America and other English-speaking regions. Some 19th-century writers also noted a Norman French form, Houelleur, used in Normandy under English influence.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval record form of the name was Rotarius, showing how clerks sometimes replaced English job titles with Latin equivalents.
From the historical record
“WHEELAN, V. Whelan. WHEELER (Eng.) Wheelwright [O.E. hwM, a wheel -|- the agent, suff. -ere] Richard le Whelere. — Close Rolls, A.D. 1347. This name was Latinized Rotarius in mediaeval rolls. WHEELEY, a syncopated form of Wheatley, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)