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

Beyer, 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 Beyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Beyer in America

Beyer is the 1937th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Beyer surname appeared 18,641 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Beyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Beyer 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 Beyer

The surname BEYER has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old German word "bure," meaning a peasant or farmer. This occupational surname likely referred to someone who worked as a farmer or lived in a rural area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BEYER can be found in the records of the city of Cologne, where a certain Hermann Beyer was mentioned in 1312. The name also appears in various chronicles and manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries in regions such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname BEYER was Johann Beyer, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1572. He made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and was also known for his work on logarithms.

During the 17th century, the name BEYER was found in several places across Germany, including the town of Beyer in Saxony, which may have influenced the spread of the surname. Another individual of note was Johann Beyer, a German composer and organist born in 1665, who made important contributions to the development of baroque music.

In the 18th century, a prominent figure with the surname BEYER was Christian Beyer, a German philosopher and theologian born in 1730. He was known for his writings on ethics and moral philosophy.

The 19th century saw the rise of Friedrich Beyer, a German industrialist born in 1822, who played a significant role in the development of the textile industry in Saxony. He was also a philanthropist and supporter of education.

As the BEYER surname spread throughout Germany and beyond, it underwent various spellings and variations, such as Beir, Bair, and Bauer, which were influenced by regional dialects and linguistic changes over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Beyer

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

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

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

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