This English name of Wheeler refers to an occupation, that of a maker of wheels. The wheels could be for a cart, to be used in spinning or other manufacturing systems. The Middle English term whele which means ‘wheel’.

Origin of Wheeler surname is in England, Ireland and Wales.
Wheeler surname is extremely common on the Isle of Wight.

In England, Wheeler families are concentrated in the central-southern portion of the country. The counties of Wiltshire, Surrey, Berkshire and Warwickshire, along with London have high populations of Wheelers. The county of Lanarkshire has the highest number of Wheelers in Scotland.

States within the United States with many Wheeler families are Massachusetts, Illinois and New York. In the 1880s Wheeler families were farmers.

Famous: Candace Wheeler (19th century interior and textile designer, national authority on home decoration), Schuyler S. Wheeler (19thcentury American engineer, inventor of the two-blade electric fan in 1882), William A. Wheeler (19thcentury U. S. Vice President under U. S. President Rutherford B. Hayes), Maggie Wheeler (actress in films and TV), Harold Wheeler (American composer, conductor, record producer, and music director), George Wheeler (19thcentury American military officer, explorer and cartographer; leading the Wheeler Survey of the west states), Dan Wheeler (professional baseball pitcher with Tampa Bay Devil Rays), David Wheeler (actor, writer, and director) and Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler (English sculptor with works including the Bank of England façade).