2000
#528
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 56,744
First available Census row
Per 100,000 21.03
Uncommon Last name
Meyers
A German occupational surname referring to a steward, bailiff, or administrator of a landowner's estate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 63,196 Americans carry the last name Meyers. That puts it at #595 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,424 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meyers 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 Meyers with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
63K
1 in 5,424
Census rank
#595
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
55K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 55,110 bearers of the surname Meyers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 595th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meyers, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Meyers
The surname MEYERS originated in Germany and is derived from the Middle High German word "meier," which means "a wealthy farmer" or "overseer of an estate." It is also related to the Old High German word "meigar," meaning "steward" or "tenant farmer." The name likely emerged during the medieval period, between the 5th and 15th centuries.
The earliest known records of the name MEYERS can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Westphalia. The name was often associated with individuals who worked as estate managers or tenant farmers on large agricultural properties owned by nobility or the church.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name MEYERS was Johann Meyers, a farmer and landowner from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Franconia, who was mentioned in a local tax record in 1312. Another notable early reference is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, which mentions a certain Henricus Meyers from Leipzig in 1387.
Over time, the name MEYERS underwent various spelling variations, such as Meier, Meyer, Mayer, and Mayr, reflecting regional dialects and scribal practices. Some of these variations were also influenced by the migration of families bearing the name to other parts of Europe and beyond.
Prominent individuals with the surname MEYERS throughout history include:
1. Jeremiah Meyers (1735-1789), an American revolutionary and colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
2. Hans Meyers (1835-1916), a German-American painter and illustrator known for his portraits and scenes depicting Native American life.
3. Henry Meyers (1782-1847), a Dutch-American businessman and politician who served as the 14th Mayor of New York City from 1807 to 1808.
4. Agnes Meyers (1855-1927), a German-American educator and women's rights activist who co-founded the National German-American Teachers' Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
5. Heinrich Meyers (1630-1700), a German Baroque composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden.
While the name MEYERS has its roots in German language and culture, it has since spread across the globe through migration and has become a common surname in many countries, particularly in the United States and other regions with significant German-American populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meyers
Among Census respondents with the surname Meyers, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Meyers 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 Meyers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 47,643
- Black or African American4.6% · 2,552
- Two or more races3.8% · 2,085
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,939
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 522
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 369
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meyers
Meyers 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
#586
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,127
+383 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 19.37
Rank movement Down 58 places
2020
#595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,110
-2,017 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 18.44
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #528 | 56,744 | 21.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #586 | 57,127 | 19.37 | +383 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 58 places |
| 2020 | #595 | 55,110 | 18.44 | -2,017 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 9 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 Meyers 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 | #586 | #595 | -1.5% |
| Count | 57,127 | 55,110 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 19.37 | 18.44 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meyers bearers went from 57,127 to 55,110 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #586 to #595.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Meyers
FAQ
Meyers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meyers?
Name Census estimates that about 63,196 living Americans carry the surname Meyers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,424 residents.
How common is Meyers?
Meyers ranks #595 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 55,110 people with the surname Meyers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (63,196), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Meyers.
Has Meyers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meyers went from 57,127 recorded bearers to 55,110. That is a decrease of 2,017 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #586 to #595.
What does the Census say about the background of Meyers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meyers, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Meyers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (47,643 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meyers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Black (4.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Meyers (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 Meyers mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a steward, bailiff, or administrator of a landowner's estate. 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 Meyers (18.44 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 common is the surname Meyers?
See how common the surname Meyers is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.