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

Heyer, 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 Heyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Heyer in America

Heyer is the 9827th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Heyer surname appeared 3,295 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 Heyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Heyer 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 Heyer

The surname HEYER has its origins in Germany, where it emerged during the Middle Ages, likely in the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old German word "haia" or "haio," which referred to a person who lived in a hedged or fenced area, or perhaps a forester or gamekeeper.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HEYER can be found in the historical records of Saxony, a region in modern-day eastern Germany. In the year 1367, a man named Heinrich Heyer was mentioned in the town records of Leipzig, indicating that the surname was already established by that time.

As the name spread across Germany, it underwent minor spelling variations, such as Hayer, Haier, and Heier, but the core pronunciation and meaning remained consistent. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the HEYER name gained prominence in various parts of Germany, including Bavaria, Württemberg, and the Rhineland.

One notable individual bearing this surname was Johann Heyer, a German theologian and author who lived from 1586 to 1659. He wrote several influential works on theology and philosophy, cementing the HEYER name's place in German intellectual circles.

In the 18th century, the HEYER surname made its way across the Atlantic Ocean to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the New World was Johann Conrad Heyer, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749 from the Palatinate region of Germany.

Another prominent figure with this surname was Wilhelm Heyer, a German botanist and taxonomist who lived from 1822 to 1896. He made significant contributions to the study of plant life and is remembered for his extensive work on the classification of mosses and liverworts.

As the centuries passed, the HEYER name continued to spread across Europe and the Americas, with individuals bearing this surname making their mark in various fields, including art, literature, and politics. For instance, Georgette Heyer, an English novelist born in 1902, was renowned for her historical romance novels set in the Regency era of England.

While the HEYER surname has its roots firmly planted in Germany, it has since become a global name, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures, each contributing to the rich tapestry of human history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Heyer

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

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

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

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