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

Eyer, 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 Eyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Eyer in America

Eyer is the 16191st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Eyer surname appeared 1,784 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Eyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Eyer 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 Eyer

The surname Eyer originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "eier," meaning "egg." The name likely referred to a tradesman who dealt in eggs or someone who lived near an egg farm or poultry business.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Eyer surname appears in the 1497 Nuremberg Census, where a Wilhelm Eyer is listed as a resident of the city. The name is also found in various 16th and 17th-century church records from the German states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Hesse.

In the 17th century, the Eyer surname spread to other parts of Europe as German settlers migrated to neighboring countries. Notable individuals bearing this name include Hans Eyer (1595-1668), a prominent German architect who designed several churches and civic buildings in Nuremberg and Augsburg.

The Eyer surname can also be found in various spellings, such as Eier, Eyre, and Eyre, particularly in areas where German immigrants settled in the United Kingdom and the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the Eyre spelling is in the 1674 birth records of Salem, Massachusetts, where a child named John Eyre was born to German immigrant parents.

Another notable individual with the Eyer surname was Johann Eyer (1720-1795), a German composer and organist who served as the court musician for the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. His compositions, particularly his church music, were widely performed and published during his lifetime.

In the 19th century, the Eyer surname became more widely dispersed as German emigrants sought new opportunities in the Americas and other parts of the world. One of the most famous individuals with this surname was the American politician and lawyer John Nicholas Eyer (1835-1914), who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania and played a prominent role in the Republican Party.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Eyer

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

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

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

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