This unusual and interesting name has two possible sources; firstly, it may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and an occupational surname for a maker or user of a file, an abrading tool, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "fil", file, in Middle English "file", with the agent suffix "-er". Secondly, Fiel(l)er may be of medieval German origin, and an occupational surname for a furrier or knacker, one who skinned animals for their hides, derived from the Old High German "fel", skin, hide, pelt. Job descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. In Germany, the christening of Joannes Fiell was recorded in Foehren, Rheinland, on November 5th 1713, and the marriage of Maria Fieller and Gerog Bacher took place at Sterzing, in the Tirol, Austria, on June 14th 1745. Among recordings of the name in English Church Registers is that of the christening of Ann Hannah, daughter of William and Ann Fieller, at Mitcham in Surrey, on April 5th 1829. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John le Filur, which was dated 1275, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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