Find out how popular the last name Auer is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Auer.

Auer, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Auer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Auer in America

Auer is the 9125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Auer surname appeared 3,578 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Auer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Auer to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Auer

The surname Auer is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German word "ouwa," which means "meadow" or "pasture." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked on a meadow or pasture.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Auer can be found in various medieval German documents and manuscripts, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae and the Monumenta Germaniae Historica. These records date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, indicating that the name has been in use for several centuries.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Auer was Konrad Auer, a German knight who lived in the late 13th century. He was mentioned in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae as a witness to a land transaction in the region of Saxony.

Another notable figure with the surname Auer was Johann Auer, a German composer and organist who lived from 1487 to 1551. He is known for his contributions to the development of Lutheran church music during the Protestant Reformation.

In the 17th century, the name Auer was also associated with the town of Auerbach in Saxony, which was once known as Auer or Auerbachmünster. This suggests that some individuals with the surname Auer may have originated from or lived in this area.

A famous bearer of the name Auer in more recent history was Leopold Auer, a Hungarian violinist and teacher who lived from 1845 to 1930. He is renowned for his influential teaching method and for having trained numerous celebrated violinists, including Jascha Heifetz and Mischa Elman.

Another notable figure was Georg Auer, an Austrian mathematician and physicist who lived from 1866 to 1952. He made significant contributions to the fields of mechanics and optics, and his work on the theory of elasticity is widely recognized.

Throughout its history, the surname Auer has been associated with various professions and social classes, including knights, musicians, scholars, and tradesmen, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Auer

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Auer.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Auer was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Auer has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Auer was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Auer, please contact us.

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