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ADLER Origin of surname

ADLER, ADLERS

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name.

Adler is the Yiddish/German for "eagle".

In some cases, Adler is derived from a medieval house-sign, as for example in the Jewish quarter (Judengasse) of medieval Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where each house had a sign, usually an animal or a flower. With time, many of the signs became fixed hereditary family name. House no. 86 had the sign of the golden eagle. Adler is recorded as a Jewish surname in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, since the mid 16th century. The Adler family of Frankfurt, who are Cohanim, and claim descent from Rabbi Shimon, the author of 'Yalkut Shimoni', adopted this name when one of their ancestors carried the royal standard bearing the 'Reichsadler' ("the imperial black eagle") in the parade celebrating the return of the Jews to Frankfurt in 1616. Distinguished bearers of the Jewish surname Adler include the German-born chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Nathan Marcus Adler (1803-1890), the Austrian neuro-pathologist, Alfred Adler (1870-1937), and the 20th century American theoretical physicist, Stephen Louis Adler.

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ADLER Origin of surname
ADLER, ADLERS

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name.

Adler is the Yiddish/German for "eagle".

In some cases, Adler is derived from a medieval house-sign, as for example in the Jewish quarter (Judengasse) of medieval Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where each house had a sign, usually an animal or a flower. With time, many of the signs became fixed hereditary family name. House no. 86 had the sign of the golden eagle. Adler is recorded as a Jewish surname in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, since the mid 16th century. The Adler family of Frankfurt, who are Cohanim, and claim descent from Rabbi Shimon, the author of 'Yalkut Shimoni', adopted this name when one of their ancestors carried the royal standard bearing the 'Reichsadler' ("the imperial black eagle") in the parade celebrating the return of the Jews to Frankfurt in 1616. Distinguished bearers of the Jewish surname Adler include the German-born chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Nathan Marcus Adler (1803-1890), the Austrian neuro-pathologist, Alfred Adler (1870-1937), and the 20th century American theoretical physicist, Stephen Louis Adler.
Written by researchers of ANU Museum of the Jewish People