Meyer is an English, Dutch, German, and Jewish surname. With its numerous variants (Myer, Meyr, Meier, Meijer, Mayer, Maier, Mayr, Mair etc., though not all instances of these names are necessarily cognate), it is a common German surname. Its original meaning in Middle High German is from mei(g)er, "manager (of a lord's country estate)", derived from Latin maior domus, i.e. "headman of a household" (cf. mayor), later on also meaning "tenant" or "(free) farmer". It is therefore a rough equivalent of the English Steward, which has also been turned into surnames such as Stuart.
This appellation was also frequently used to form longer, more specific surnames such as Bergmair or Niedermeier. Some German Jews adopted Meyer or a variant thereof as a surname when they assimilated to German culture in the 18th century, as it is close to the Hebrew first name Me'ir (מֵאִיר), "shining, enlightened".
Geographical distribution
In 2014, the surname Meyer was most often found (by percentage of the population) in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and South Africa. The name ranked 6th in Germany and 8th in Switzerland.
Notable people
A–D
Adolf Meyer (architect) (1881–1921), German architect
Adolf Bernhard Meyer (1840–1911) German ornithologist
Albert Meyer (politician) (1870–1953), Swiss politician
Albert Gregory Meyer (1903–1965), Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago
Alfred Meyer (1891–1945), German Nazi official
Anita Meyer (born 1954), Dutch singer
Anthony Meyer (1920–2004), British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative Party politician Antoine Meyer (1801–1857), Belgian mathematician Axel Meyer (born 1960), German evolutionary biologist Bernard F. Meyer (1898–1975), American Catholic missionary to China Bernard S. Meyer (1916–2005), New York judge Bernhard Meyer (1767–1836), German physician and naturalist Bertrand Meyer (born 1950), French computer scientist, designed the Eiffel programming language Bill Meyer (artist) (born 1942), Australian artist Birgit Meyer (born 1960), Dutch religious studies scholar Bob Meyer (born 1939), American baseball player Breckin Meyer (born 1974), American actor and producer Bunny Meyer (born 1985), American YouTube vlogger Cameron Meyer (born 1988), Australian professional racing cyclist Carlos Enrique Meyer (born 1953), Argentine businessman and politician Christian Meyer (disambiguation) Christoph Meyer (born 1975), German politician Christopher Meyer (1944–2022), British Ambassador to the U.S. Colleen Meyer (1939–2015), American politician and businesswoman Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825–1898), Swiss poet and writer Cord Meyer (1920–2001), American Central Intelligence Agency official Dakota Meyer (born 1988), U.S. Medal of Honor recipient Daniel P. Meyer (born 1965), a federal whistleblowing advocate Debbie Meyer (born 1952), U.S. Olympic swimmer Deon Meyer (born 1958), South African thriller novelist Dina Meyer (born 1968), U.S. actor Dirk Meyer, U.S. microprocessor designer Don Meyer (1944–2014), American basketball coach Drew Meyer (born 1981), American baseball player Dutch Meyer (1898–1982), American college sports coach