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

Trayer, 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 Trayer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Trayer in America

Trayer is the 36525th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Trayer surname appeared 612 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 Trayer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Trayer 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 Trayer

The surname Trayer is of French origin, deriving from the old French word "traier" which means "to carry" or "to transport." It is believed that the name first emerged in the 12th century in the northern regions of France, particularly in areas like Normandy and Brittany.

During the Middle Ages, the name Trayer was likely associated with individuals whose occupation involved transporting goods or materials, such as merchants, traders, or porters. The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in medieval documents and records from that period.

One notable example is the mention of a Robert Trayer in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, England, dated 1195. This reference suggests that individuals bearing this surname had already migrated to England by the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the surname Trayer appeared in various spellings, including Traieur, Traihor, and Trayour, reflecting the phonetic variations common during that time. One notable individual from this era was Simon Trayer, a landowner from Normandy, who is mentioned in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres in 1267.

As the surname spread across Europe, it also took on different variations based on local dialects and spellings. In Germany, for instance, the name appeared as Trayer or Treyer, while in Italy, it was often spelled as Traiore.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Trayer surname in America dates back to the 17th century, with the arrival of Jean Trayer, a French Huguenot who settled in New York in 1685. Another notable figure was William Trayer, a British officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and was born in 1745.

In the 19th century, the surname Trayer gained further prominence with individuals such as Charles Trayer (1792-1858), a French painter known for his landscape and genre works, and John Trayer (1825-1901), an English engineer and inventor who contributed significantly to the development of early steam engines.

Throughout history, the Trayer surname has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, from artists and inventors to soldiers and landowners, reflecting the diverse origins and adaptations of this name across different regions and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Trayer

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

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

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

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