Eller
A surname that most likely began as a place-name, especially for someone living by alders or a spot called Eller.
The #3,250 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,807 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as locational, from a place-name built on Old English or Middle English words for the alder tree, especially a form like eller or alder. In northern English place-names, it could refer to a place with alders growing nearby, or to a streamside islet or enclosure associated with alders. Some writers also allow that certain forms may have developed from nearby place-names such as Elleray or Ellerhow.
History
The name turns up in northern English surname material, especially in North Lancashire and other place-name-rich regions. Early surname writers treated it as a local name rather than a descriptive nickname, and related forms such as Elleray and Ellerbeck point to the same landscape pattern. Because the evidence is sparse, some individual families with this surname may instead descend from a variant of a different local name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname books, Eller is linked to the alder tree and even to little streamside islands where alders grew.
From the historical record
“Hugh Nepos.^ — do. Cp. the common French Le Nepveu. (Scand.) Dvi^eller at a Peak [O.N. gnlpa] NEARY (Celt.) the Irish Ndradhach (nepotic form O' Ndradhaigh—dh mute) [cp. Ir. ndr, good, happy -|- adkach, -prosperous,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)