# Ayer (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/ayer/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 3,415 |
| US rank (2010) | 9,520 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 90,409 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.8% (3,353 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛɚ/ ~ /ˈɛɹ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Ayre |

## Etymology

* As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun heir. * Also as an English surname, from the Anglo-Norman and Middle English personal name Aier, from Proto-West Germanic *Agihari, from *agi (“fear”) + *hari (“army”). * Also as an English surname, variant of Hair.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Ayer in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 87% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 5.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Ayer in the United States.

## People named Ayer

- David Ayer, American filmmaker
- Margaret Ayer Barnes, American playwright, novelist, short story writer (1886–1967)
- Elizabeth Ayer, American architect

## Similar surnames

Auer, Arroyo, Araya, Ary, Arey, Arya, Airey.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.