Historical Information on the Many Variants of the MEYER Surname, Widespread Around the World.

Origins of the Surname

Latin & Germanic Origins

One reason why the surname is so common is that it has an occupational origination in the European Merovingian Dynasty of the fifth century and comes from the Gallo-Roman term "major" , meaning "someone in a higher position". The term "major" evolved into "Meior" in Old High German , then "Meier" in Middle High German. In the 12th Century, it is known that the name was given to those that administered estates for the aristocracy or the clergy. It was, also, applied as the name for a farmer who leased land belonging to the nobility or clergy. The lease was of such a long duration that the land-lease was often inherited by the eldest son of the farmer. Thus, descendants of the original title bearer often became know as "Meier", too.

This surname, with its many varients, is one of the most widespread Germanic surnames. As the surname became more common in the small local areas where centuries saw little or no movement of its inhabitants, people added prefixes & suffixes to the root name in order to distinguish themselves from others bearing the same name. Such early prefixes and suffixes were likely distinctions or elaborations on the occupational title and/or to leasehold farmlands. Thus, "Feldmeyer" might indicate the "meyer" family with their farm in/near the woods, as might "Holtzmeyer". There are over 1000 combinations or varients of the surname Meyer, including: Mair, Myer, Hoffmeyer, Garmire, Steckmier, Goldmeir, Meyerbeer-- just to name a very few.

A Coat of Arms was granted to one Franz Simon Meyer of Baden-Baden.

Basic Root Spelling Varients

Meior ; Meier ; Meyer ; Meir ; Meijer (Holland) ; Maier ; Mayer ; Mier ; Myer

Ethnic Notes

The wide range of ethnic peoples bearing varient forms of the name Meyer, attests to the tremendous influence of the the Gallo-Roman Empire in Europe. The surname can be found not only among Germans, but among the French, Irish, Ashkenazy Jews, Scandinavians, East Europeans, Russians, Italians, and other European latins language peoples. As jewish peoples in the Germanic countries did not have the right to own or till the land or to be farmers, most genealogists attribute two origins to the patronym or surname: one christian and one jewish . The jewish name "Meyer" signifies a Talmudic doctor or scholar.

Country Notes

France: Approximately 20% of the French of people with the Meyer surname come from the Bas Rhin (Dept#67). The Haute Rhin (Dept.#68) and the Meurthe et Moselle (Dept.# 57) regions account for another 14%. In other words, 34% of French Meyers come from those three departments alone. The Vosges (Dept #86) holds a large number of Meyers, as well. The greater Paris area, as the French capital, accounts for another 13% of all the Meyers of French origin .

Today, there are approximately 41,000 French people with the germanic "Meyer" surname in comparison to about 170,000 french people with the more typically french surname of "Martin", according to "Les Dictionaires Patronymiques: Les Meyer" (ISBN 2-909530-44-2). More information can be found at Bernard Meyer's website. It is currently in French and will soon be available in English.

The Treaty of Frankfurt, in May of 1871, marked the end of the Franco-Prussian War and annexed to Prussia all of Alsace (excepting Belfort) and a part of Lorraine. For those with the Meyer surname originating in the Alsace-Lorraine regions, it is of special note that the treaty specified for people inhabiting the newly annexed territories and wishing to remain French to remove themselves to french territory by October of 1872. Those French citizens who lived outside of Europe but originated from the newly annexed territories were required to formally register an option to either remain French or accept German citizenship by October 1, 1873. Such formal options were made by ex-patriots at the many French consulates and embassies overseas. Lists of people who registers as well as names of miltary presonnel and officers with the surname of Meyer are available in the surname book referenced above. The list of individual names include places of birth , death, and occasionally spouse names.