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

Vier, 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 Vier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vier in America

Vier is the 79075th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vier surname appeared 241 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 Vier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vier 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 Vier

The surname "VIER" is of German origin, derived from the word "vier" meaning "four" in German. This name likely originated as a nickname or occupational name for someone who was associated with the number four, perhaps as a tax collector or a person who lived at a house numbered four.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname "VIER" can be traced back to the 16th century in various German regions, particularly in the areas of Bavaria and Saxony. Historical records from that time period, such as church registers and tax rolls, often mentioned individuals with this surname.

One notable early instance of the name "VIER" appears in the 1583 baptismal records of the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Vier was recorded as the father of a newborn child. This suggests that the surname was already well-established in that region by the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the surname "VIER" began to spread beyond its initial German heartland, as individuals bearing this name migrated to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. For example, records show that a Jakob Vier, born in 1625 in Heidelberg, Germany, later settled in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (present-day New York) in the 1650s.

Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname "VIER." One such person was Johann Vier (1790-1867), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Another prominent figure was Karl Vier (1835-1901), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Reichstag (the parliament of the German Empire) from 1871 to 1893, representing the National Liberal Party.

In the 20th century, Hans Vier (1901-1986) was a German architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the reconstruction of several German cities after World War II, including Hanover and Berlin.

Elsa Vier (1922-2011) was a renowned German ballet dancer and choreographer, known for her performances with the Hamburg Ballet and her collaborations with celebrated choreographers like John Cranko.

More recently, Timo Vier (born 1977) is a German professional footballer who played as a midfielder for several Bundesliga clubs, including VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach, between 1995 and 2011.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vier

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!