2000
#6,326
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,959
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.84
Rare Last name
Baier
An occupational surname for a Bavarian term referring to someone who worked as a baker or pastry chef.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,626 Americans carry the last name Baier. That puts it at #6,620 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 60,923 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baier 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
5.6K
1 in 60,923
Census rank
#6,620
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,906 bearers of the surname Baier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6620th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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In the 15th century, the surname BAIER appeared in various historical documents and manuscripts, including the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of charters and legal documents from Bavaria.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baier
Among Census respondents with the surname Baier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Baier 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 Baier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 4,533
- Two or more races3.2% · 158
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 148
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 29
- Black or African American0.4% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baier
Baier 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
#6,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,238
+279 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.78
Rank movement Down 156 places
2020
#6,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,906
-332 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.64
Rank movement Down 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,326 | 4,959 | 1.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,482 | 5,238 | 1.78 | +279 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 156 places |
| 2020 | #6,620 | 4,906 | 1.64 | -332 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 138 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 Baier 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 | #6,482 | #6,620 | -2.1% |
| Count | 5,238 | 4,906 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.78 | 1.64 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baier bearers went from 5,238 to 4,906 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,482 to #6,620.
FAQ
Baier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baier?
Name Census estimates that about 5,626 living Americans carry the surname Baier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 60,923 residents.
How common is Baier?
Baier ranks #6,620 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,906 people with the surname Baier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,626), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Baier.
Has Baier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baier went from 5,238 recorded bearers to 4,906. That is a decrease of 332 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,482 to #6,620.
What does the Census say about the background of Baier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Baier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (4,533 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Baier (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 Baier mean?
An occupational surname for a Bavarian term referring to someone who worked as a baker or pastry chef. 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 Baier (1.64 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 Baier?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Baier on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.