2000
#1,843
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,910
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.64
Uncommon Last name
Beyer
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold beer, derived from the Middle High German "beier".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,266 Americans carry the last name Beyer. That puts it at #1,994 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,913 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beyer 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Beyer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,913
Census rank
#1,994
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,673 bearers of the surname Beyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1994th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Beyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Beyer 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 Beyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 16,410
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 523
- Two or more races2.7% · 483
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 160
- Black or African American0.3% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beyer
Beyer 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
#1,937
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,641
+731 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 6.32
Rank movement Down 94 places
2020
#1,994
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,673
-968 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 5.91
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,843 | 17,910 | 6.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,937 | 18,641 | 6.32 | +731 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 94 places |
| 2020 | #1,994 | 17,673 | 5.91 | -968 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 57 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 Beyer 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 | #1,937 | #1,994 | -2.9% |
| Count | 18,641 | 17,673 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 6.32 | 5.91 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beyer bearers went from 18,641 to 17,673 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,937 to #1,994.
FAQ
Beyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beyer?
Name Census estimates that about 20,266 living Americans carry the surname Beyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,913 residents.
How common is Beyer?
Beyer ranks #1,994 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,673 people with the surname Beyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,266), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Beyer.
Has Beyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beyer went from 18,641 recorded bearers to 17,673. That is a decrease of 968 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,937 to #1,994.
What does the Census say about the background of Beyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Beyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (16,410 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Beyer (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 Beyer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold beer, derived from the Middle High German "beier". 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 Beyer (5.91 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 Beyer?
See how many people have the surname Beyer on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.