How common is the surname Weir?

18,881 people in the United States had the surname Weir in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,352 Americans. It ranked 1,903rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Weir?

Peter Weir, Australian film director (born 1944), followed by Andy Weir.

Where is the surname Weir most common?

Wikidata records people named Weir in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Weir getting more or less common?

More common. 18,588 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,881 in 2010, up 1.6%.

The surname Weir

An occupational surname, carried by 18,881 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex W600

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Weir is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

* As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun weir. Compare Wear, Ware. * Sometimes also a French surname, perhaps a version of Norman de la Were (“of the war”), see Warr. There is also the placename Wierre-au-Bois in Pas-de-Calais. * As an Irish surname, shortened and Anglicized from Mac an Mhaoir (“son of the steward”), see McNair. Also sometimes Anglicized from erroneous translations of names such as Ó Corra, Ó Comhraidhe, see Corr and Curry.

Weir is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 18,881 people named Weir in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,352 Americans. That is up 1.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,588.

#1,903

rank among US surnames

18,881

people in 2010

6.4

per 100,000 Americans

+1.6%

change since 2000 (was #1,767)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,894	Pulido	18,942	16,300
#1,895	Roche	18,940	16,301
#1,896	Tobin	18,932	16,308
#1,897	Zaragoza	18,908	16,329
#1,898	Isaac	18,903	16,333
#1,899	Spaulding	18,902	16,334
#1,900	Keys	18,899	16,337

Who is named Weir

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

88% of people named Weir identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.1% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 88%
Black (not Hispanic) 7.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Weirs

12 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Peter Weir
Australian film director (born 1944)
Andy Weir
American writer (born 1972)
Johnny Weir
American figure skater and television commentator, born 1984
Bob Weir
American musician; member of the Grateful Dead (1947–2026)
Judith Weir
British composer, born 1954
J. Alden Weir
American artist (1852-1919)
Amanda Weir
American swimmer, Olympic silver medalist, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1986
Robert Walter Weir
American artist (1803-1889)
Alison Weir
American journalist, born 2000
Dorothy Weir Young
American painter, biographer, 1890–1947
Michael Damian
American actor, recording artist, and producer, born 1962
Anna McGahan
Australian actress, born 1988

Notable Weirs come mostly from the United States (9), Australia (2) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Weir

Weir has the Soundex code W600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W600.

Questions

Where does the surname Weir come from?: * As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun weir. Compare Wear, Ware. * Sometimes also a French surname, perhaps a version of Norman de la Were (“of the war”), see Warr. There is also the placename Wierre-au-Bois in Pas-de-Calais. * As an Irish surname, shortened and Anglicized from Mac an…
How common is the surname Weir?: 18,881 people in the United States had the surname Weir in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,352 Americans. It ranked 1,903rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Weir?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Weir identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.1% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Weir?: Peter Weir, Australian film director (born 1944), followed by Andy Weir.
Where is the surname Weir most common?: Wikidata records people named Weir in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Weir?: Weir is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Weir getting more or less common?: More common. 18,588 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,881 in 2010, up 1.6%.