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

Spier, 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 Spier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spier in America

Spier is the 16939th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spier surname appeared 1,679 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 Spier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spier 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 Spier

The surname Spier originated in the Netherlands and is derived from the Dutch word "spier," meaning muscle or sinew. It was an occupational name given to those who made bows or crossbows, which required strong, muscular arms to pull the strings.

The name can be traced back to the 13th century in records from the provinces of North Holland and South Holland. Early variations of the spelling included Spyer, Spyre, and Spyere. The name is also found in some of the earliest Dutch census records from the 1600s.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Spier appears in a 1382 document from the city of Leiden, which mentions a Willem Spier who was a bowyer by trade. Another early reference is found in a 1475 manuscript from Amsterdam, which lists a Pieter Spier among the city's craftsmen.

In the 16th century, the Spier name is associated with the Dutch Protestant Reformation. Jan Spier (1505-1567) was a Mennonite leader from Emden who helped establish several Anabaptist communities in the Netherlands.

Notable individuals with the Spier surname include Hendrik Spier (1628-1701), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still life works. Cornelius Spier (1790-1845) was a prominent Dutch architect who designed several notable buildings in The Hague and Rotterdam.

In the 19th century, Johannes Spier (1837-1915) was a Dutch theologian and scholar who translated the Bible into modern Dutch. Pieter Spier (1919-2003) was a renowned Dutch children's book illustrator and author who won numerous awards for his work.

Outside of the Netherlands, the Spier name can also be found in German-speaking regions, where it is believed to have been adopted by Dutch immigrants or derived from a similar occupational term.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spier

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

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

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

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