2000
#8,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,411
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.26
Rare Last name
Auer
A German locational surname derived from places named Au or Aue, meaning "meadow" or "riverside land."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,036 Americans carry the last name Auer. That puts it at #8,922 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,924 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Auer surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 84,924
Census rank
#8,922
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,520 bearers of the surname Auer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8922nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Auer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Auer
Among Census respondents with the surname Auer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Auer bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Auer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 3,252
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 145
- Two or more races2.0% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 34
- Black or African American0.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Auer
Auer appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,578
+167 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 286 places
2020
#8,922
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,520
-58 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Up 203 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,839 | 3,411 | 1.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,125 | 3,578 | 1.21 | +167 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 286 places |
| 2020 | #8,922 | 3,520 | 1.18 | -58 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 203 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Auer surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,125 | #8,922 | 2.2% |
| Count | 3,578 | 3,520 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.21 | 1.18 | -2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Auer bearers went from 3,578 to 3,520 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 203 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,125 to #8,922.
FAQ
Auer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Auer?
Name Census estimates that about 4,036 living Americans carry the surname Auer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,924 residents.
How common is Auer?
Auer ranks #8,922 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,520 people with the surname Auer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,036), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Auer.
Has Auer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Auer went from 3,578 recorded bearers to 3,520. That is a decrease of 58 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,125 to #8,922.
What does the Census say about the background of Auer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Auer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Auer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (3,252 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Auer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (2.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Auer (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Auer mean?
A German locational surname derived from places named Au or Aue, meaning "meadow" or "riverside land." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Auer (1.18 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Auer?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Auer at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.