Zahler Family History

German (Zähler) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from an agent derivative of German zahlen ‘to count’, Middle High German zalen, hence an occupational name for someone who kept count, i.e. a tallyman or clerk; also, for German, a nickname for a debtor. German: from a reduced form of zagel (see Zahl), which also appears as a field name and hence a topographic name.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press