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

Baier, 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 Baier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Baier in America

Baier is the 6482nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Baier surname appeared 5,238 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Baier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Baier 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 Baier

The surname BAIER is of German origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the region of Bavaria, which was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. The name BAIER is derived from the German word "Bayer," which means "Bavarian" or "someone from Bavaria."

The earliest recorded instances of the surname BAIER can be traced back to the 13th century. Some of the earliest known bearers of this name include Johann Baier, a nobleman from the city of Nuremberg, who lived in the late 1200s. Another notable figure was Hans Baier, a merchant from the town of Augsburg, who is mentioned in historical records from the 1300s.

In the 15th century, the surname BAIER appeared in various historical documents and manuscripts, including the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of charters and legal documents from Bavaria. One prominent individual from this era was Michael Baier, a scholar and theologian born in Nuremberg in 1460, who wrote several religious texts and served as a professor at the University of Ingolstadt.

During the 16th century, the name BAIER gained wider recognition, particularly in the context of the Protestant Reformation. Johann Baier, a Lutheran theologian born in Nuremberg in 1570, was a renowned author and professor who taught at the University of Jena. His works on Lutheran doctrine and theology were widely influential in his time.

Another notable figure was Christoph Baier, a German mathematician and astronomer born in Augsburg in 1615. He made significant contributions to the field of optics and published several treatises on the properties of lenses and telescopes.

In the 18th century, the name BAIER continued to be associated with scholars and intellectuals. Johann David Baier, born in Nuremberg in 1701, was a renowned jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Altdorf.

The surname BAIER also has connections to various place names and older spellings. For example, the town of Baiersbronn in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, was formerly known as "Baiersbrunnen" in the Middle Ages, indicating a potential link between the surname and this location.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Baier

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

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

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

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