Frequency: (172)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. German: variant spelling of Kappler.
2. Hungarian: Germanized form of Hungarian Káplár or Kaplár, status name for a corporal. It is disputed whether the Hungarian word káplár was borrowed from Italian or German, but it ultimately derives from Latin caput ‘head’. The Kapler noble family, identified as Hungarian, was registered in Pozsony (German Pressburg, Slovak Bratislava) as early as the 15th century, but their ancestors were German, and their original name was Kaplitz.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
Dictionary of American Family Names. Copyright © 2006 Patrick Hanks. All rights reserved.
