2000
#15,661
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,713
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Eyer
A habitational name from the German place name Eyer, from the High German eya meaning "island".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,978 Americans carry the last name Eyer. That puts it at #16,220 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 173,283 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eyer 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 Eyer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 173,283
Census rank
#16,220
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,725 bearers of the surname Eyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16220th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Eyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Eyer 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 Eyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 1,602
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 57
- Two or more races1.7% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- Black or African American0.6% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eyer
Eyer 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
#16,191
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,784
+71 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 530 places
2020
#16,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,725
-59 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Down 29 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,661 | 1,713 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,191 | 1,784 | 0.60 | +71 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 530 places |
| 2020 | #16,220 | 1,725 | 0.58 | -59 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 29 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 Eyer 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 | #16,191 | #16,220 | -0.2% |
| Count | 1,784 | 1,725 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 0.58 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eyer bearers went from 1,784 to 1,725 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 29 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,191 to #16,220.
FAQ
Eyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eyer?
Name Census estimates that about 1,978 living Americans carry the surname Eyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 173,283 residents.
How common is Eyer?
Eyer ranks #16,220 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,725 people with the surname Eyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,978), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Eyer.
Has Eyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eyer went from 1,784 recorded bearers to 1,725. That is a decrease of 59 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,191 to #16,220.
What does the Census say about the background of Eyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Eyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (1,602 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Eyer (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 Eyer mean?
A habitational name from the German place name Eyer, from the High German eya meaning "island". 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 Eyer (0.58 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 Eyer?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Eyer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.