Wer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The surname Wer has a few possible origins. The name may be toponymic, from a place name near which the original bearer lived or held land. Place names which could have inspired the surname Wer could be Weier, Weiher, Wieren, and Weyer in Germany or Wierum in Holland. Or the surname could be locative, from a geographical feature near where the bearer resided. In either case, the name would be derived from the Middle German word "weiher" meaning "a pond or still water" or from the old German water-word "wir." The surname Wer may also be patronymic, from the first name of the father of the initial bearer. In this case, the surname Wer would come from the personal name Wigheri, stemming from "weihen" meaning "holy."

Early Origins of the Wer family

The surname Wer was first found in Westphalia, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families in the western region. From the 13th century onwards the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. Haintz Weyer from Heudorf was recorded in Riedlingen in 1434, and Magdalena zum Weiher, widow of Erasmus zum Wiger, in Freiburg in 1572. A shoemaker named Martin Weyermann was mentioned in documents of 1644.

Early History of the Wer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wer research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1580, 1596, 1610, 1620, 1621, 1623, 1640, 1666, 1670, 1690 and 1842 are included under the topic Early Wer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wer Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Weyer, Weyher, Wier, Weyhe, Weyier, van der Weyer, van den Weyer, Weye, Weyers, Wyers, Wyer, Wiermann and many more.

Early Notables of the Wer family

Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wer migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Michael Wer, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1754 1

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)