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

Payer, 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 Payer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Payer in America

Payer is the 27756th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Payer surname appeared 866 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 Payer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Payer 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 Payer

The surname Payer originated from the Old French word "paieur", which means "payer" or "paymaster". This surname was initially given to individuals who were responsible for collecting rent, taxes, or other payments. The earliest known records of the Payer surname can be traced back to the 12th century in the region of Normandy, France.

During the Middle Ages, the Payer surname was often associated with individuals who held administrative roles in the collection of payments or taxes. In the 13th century, a notable figure named Jean Payer served as the paymaster for the Count of Anjou, a prominent French nobleman.

As the Payer surname spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Paieur, Payeur, and Payour. One of the earliest recorded instances of the Payer surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, an English census of landowners and their tenants, where a certain William Payer was listed as a landowner in Oxfordshire.

In the 14th century, the Payer surname appeared in the Pipe Rolls, which were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer. These rolls documented the payments made by landowners and taxpayers, and several individuals with the surname Payer were recorded as making such payments.

During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the Payer surname was Johannes Payer, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1481. He contributed significantly to the development of trigonometry and authored several works on astronomy and mathematics.

Another prominent individual with the Payer surname was Hans Payer, an Austrian explorer and cartographer born in 1836. He led expeditions to the Arctic regions and was responsible for mapping and charting several previously unexplored areas in the Arctic archipelago.

In the 19th century, a French artist named Jules Payer gained recognition for his landscape paintings and depictions of rural life in France. He was born in 1824 and his works are now part of various museum collections across Europe.

The Payer surname also has a notable presence in the United States, with one of the earliest recorded instances being John Payer, who arrived in Pennsylvania as an immigrant from Germany in the early 18th century.

Throughout history, the Payer surname has been associated with individuals involved in finance, administration, exploration, and the arts, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and occupations of those who bore this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Payer

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

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

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

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