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

Backer, 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 Backer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Backer in America

Backer is the 9615th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Backer surname appeared 3,380 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 Backer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Backer 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 Backer

The surname Backer has its origins in the Middle Dutch language and is derived from the occupational term "bakker," which means "baker" in English. This name first emerged in the Low Countries, present-day Belgium and the Netherlands, during the 13th century.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Backer can be traced back to medieval Dutch and Flemish records from the 13th and 14th centuries. These include references in tax rolls, guild records, and municipal archives from cities like Amsterdam, Bruges, and Ghent.

In the 15th century, the name Backer appeared in the famous Boke of Noblesse, a manuscript compiled by the Dutch herald Gelre in 1475. This work documented the coats of arms and lineages of noble families in the Low Countries.

One notable individual bearing the Backer surname was Jan Backer, a Dutch painter from the Baroque period who lived from 1609 to 1651. He was a prominent figure in the Haarlem School of painting and is known for his portraits and genre scenes.

Another historical figure was Jacob Adriaensz Backer, a Dutch Golden Age painter who lived from 1608 to 1651. He was a student of Rembrandt and is celebrated for his group portraits and biblical scenes.

In the 17th century, the Backer name spread beyond the Low Countries as Dutch settlers and traders traveled to other parts of Europe and the Americas. For instance, Dirck Jansen Backer was a Dutch colonist who settled in New Netherland (present-day New York) in the 1630s.

The Backer surname also has roots in England, where it may have been derived from the Old English word "bakere," meaning "baker." One early recorded instance is from the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Radulfus le Bakere in Gloucestershire.

In Scotland, the Backer surname can be traced back to the 16th century. One notable figure was John Backer, a Scottish mathematician and astrologer who lived from 1555 to 1619. He served as a professor at the University of St Andrews and published works on astronomy and astrology.

As the Backer name spread across Europe and beyond, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Bakker, Bäcker, and Becker, reflecting regional linguistic differences and local dialects.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Backer

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

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 Backer 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 Backer 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 Backer was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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