The surname Mayer
A German surname, carried by 39,555 people in the United States.
2 syllables Soundex M600
Origin
German origin
* As an English surname, variant of Mear, from the noun mere (both senses). * Also as an English surname, from Middle English mire, a borrowing from archaic French mire (“physician”). Compare Myer. * Also as an English name, from the noun mayor. Compare Mayor, Mair. * As a German and Dutch surname, variant of Meyer, Myers. * Also as a Dutch surname, variant of Maijer, from the noun maaier (“mower, reaper”). * As a French Canadian surname, variant of Maille, itself of Breton origin, from the adjective maget (“nourished”), from Proto-Celtic *maketi (“to raise”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ḱ- (“long, to raise”).
One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 39,555 people named Mayer in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,805 Americans. That is up 1.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 39,111.
Who is named Mayer
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
93% of people named Mayer identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.3% as two or more races.
- White (not Hispanic) 93%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.0%
- Two or more races 1.3%
- Black (not Hispanic) 1.3%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%
Famous Mayers
32 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- John MayerAmerican musician (born 1977)
- Marissa MayerAmerican business executive and engineer, former CEO of Yahoo!, born 1975
- Timmy MayerAmerican racing driver, 1938–1964
- Christian MayerAlpine skier, born 1972
- Charles MayerBoxer (1882–1972)
- Christopher MayerAmerican actor (1954-2011)
- Teddy MayerAmerican businessman, 1935–2009
- Helmut MayerAustrian alpine skier, born 1966
- Gerhard MayerAustrian athletics competitor (born 1980)
- Arno J. MayerAmerican historian, academic and intellectual (1926–2023)
- Mikaela MayerAmerican boxer, born 1990
- José MayerBrazilian actor, born 1949
Notable Mayers come mostly from the United States (19), Austria (7) and Argentina (2).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Other German surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Mayer come from?
- * As an English surname, variant of Mear, from the noun mere (both senses). * Also as an English surname, from Middle English mire, a borrowing from archaic French mire (“physician”). Compare Myer. * Also as an English name, from the noun mayor. Compare Mayor, Mair. * As a German and Dutch…
- How common is the surname Mayer?
- 39,555 people in the United States had the surname Mayer in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,805 Americans. It ranked 880th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Mayer?
- In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Mayer identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- Who is the most famous person named Mayer?
- John Mayer, American musician (born 1977), followed by Marissa Mayer.
- Where is the surname Mayer most common?
- Wikidata records people named Mayer in the United States, Austria and Argentina and 3 other countries.
- Is the surname Mayer getting more or less common?
- More common. 39,111 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 39,555 in 2010, up 1.1%.
- Is Mayer also a first name?
- Yes. Mayer is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.