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

Breyer, 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 Breyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Breyer in America

Breyer is the 21057th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Breyer surname appeared 1,248 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Breyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Breyer 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 Breyer

The surname Breyer is of German origin, derived from the occupational name for a brewer or beer maker. The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when brewing was a common and respected trade in many German towns and villages.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the name Breyer was found in various regions of Germany, particularly in areas known for their beer production, such as Bavaria and Saxony. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Medieval German records and documents, often written as "Breier" or "Breyer."

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Breyer, a brewer from the town of Nuremberg, who was mentioned in a local chronicle in 1436. Another notable figure was Hans Breyer, a master brewer from Munich, who was granted a brewing license in 1501.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, as German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the New World, the surname Breyer spread beyond its origins. In the United States, the name can be found in records of German immigrants who arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries, many of whom settled in Pennsylvania and other areas with sizable German communities.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Breyer in America was that of Johann Michael Breyer, who arrived in Philadelphia from Germany in 1749. Another notable bearer of the name was John Breyer, a German-American brewer who founded the Breyer Ice Cream Company in Philadelphia in 1866.

Other notable individuals with the surname Breyer include:

1. Stephen Breyer (born 1938), an American lawyer and jurist who has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1994.
2. Marcel Breyer (1865-1945), a French sculptor and medalist known for his works in Art Nouveau style.
3. Johann Breyer (1572-1616), a German composer and organist of the Renaissance period.
4. Mikolaj Breyer (1577-1639), a Polish-German architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Gdansk, Poland.
5. Heinrich Breyer (1840-1921), a German politician and journalist who served as a member of the Reichstag in the late 19th century.

While the name Breyer has evolved over time and spread to various parts of the world, its origins can be traced back to the beer-brewing traditions of medieval Germany, where it was an occupational name for those skilled in the art of brewing.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Breyer

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

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

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

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