Adler is a surname of German origin meaning eagle.[1] and has a frequency in the United Kingdom of less than 0.004%, and of 0.008% in the United States.[2] In Christian iconography, the eagle is the symbol of John the Evangelist, and as such a stylized eagle was commonly used as a house sign/totem in German-speaking areas. From the tenement the term easily moved to its inhabitants, particularly to those having only one name. This phenomenon can be easily seen in German and Austrian censuses from the 16th and 17th centuries.[3]

Notable Adlers

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Actors, writers and producers

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Engineers and scientists

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Musicians

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  • Chris Adler (born 1972), drummer of the metal band Lamb of God
  • Cisco Adler (born 1978), the artist featured in all songs of the artist Shwayze
  • Guido Adler (1855–1941), Bohemian-Austrian musicologist and writer on music
  • Hans G. Adler (1904–1979), South African pianist, musicologist, and antique keyboard instrument collector
  • Henry Adler, American drum kit educator, player and actor
  • Hugo Chaim Adler (1896–1955), Belgian composer, cantor, and choir conductor
  • James Adler (born 1950), American composer and pianist
  • Julia Rebekka Adler (born 1978), German violist
  • Larry Adler (1914–2001), American musician, widely acknowledged as one of the world's most skilled harmonica players
  • Oskar Adler (1875–1955), Austrian violinist, physician and esoteric savant, brother of Max Adler.
  • Richard Adler (1921–2012), Jewish-American lyricist, composer and producer of several Broadway shows
  • Samuel Adler (born 1928), Jewish-American composer and conductor
  • Steven Adler (born 1965), a drummer for the hard rock band Guns N' Roses
  • Vincent Adler, Hungarian pianist and composer
  • Willie Adler (born 1976), guitarist of the metal band Lamb of God

Conductors

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  • Frederick Charles Adler (1889–1959), London-born conductor known as "F. Charles Adler"
  • Kurt Adler (1907–1977), Austrian-American conductor, Metropolitan Opera Chorus Master from 1943 to 1973
  • Kurt Herbert Adler (1905–1988), Vienna-born American conductor, San Francisco Opera general director from 1953 to 1981
  • Peter Herman Adler (1899–1990), Czech-born American conductor, director of NBC Opera Theatre from 1950 to 1964

Politicians

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  • Charles S. Adler (1862–1911), American politician from New York
  • Ernie Adler (born 1950), American politician from Nevada
  • Friedrich Adler (1879–1960), Austrian revolutionary politician, son of Viktor Adler
  • John Adler (1959–2011), American politician from New Jersey
  • Julius Adler (1894–1945), German politician
  • Steve Adler (born 1956), American politician, former mayor of Austin, Texas
  • Victor Adler (1852–1918), Austrian Social Democratic leader

Rabbis and theologians

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Athletes

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Others

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Fictional characters

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References

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  1. ^ Hanks, P. (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names: 3-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-19-508137-4. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Adler Distribution". forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2014
  3. ^ "Adler Surname Meaning and Distribution". ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2014