Meyere History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe ancestral home of the Meyere family is in the German state of Bavaria. The name Meyere is an occupational hereditary surname, a type of surname that was taken from a word describing or common to the profession of the original bearer. It is a name for a mayor, or elected head of the community. The name stems from the German word "meier," meaning mayor. Early Origins of the Meyere familyThe surname Meyere was first found in southern Germany, where the family was anciently seated. The name referred at first to the representative of the lord of a manor, and later to the administrator or tenant of a small court. Early History of the Meyere familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Meyere research. Another 287 words (20 lines of text) covering the years 1363, 1400, 1618, 1643, 1646, 1650, 1653, 1689, 1712, 1713, 1725, 1760, 1763, 1786, 1825, 1832, 1845, 1847, 1849, 1857, 1870 and 1898 are included under the topic Early Meyere History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Meyere Spelling VariationsIn the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Meyere include Mayer, Maier, Meyer, Meier, Mayr, Meyr, Myer and many more. Early Notables of the Meyere familyProminent among members of the name Meyere in this period include Conrad Meyer (1618-1689), a Swiss painter and engraver from Zurich; Johann Friedrich Mayer (1650-1712), a German Lutheran theologian; Rupert Ignaz Mayr (1646-1712), a German violinist, composer and Kapellmeister in Munich; Hans Heinrich Meyer (1760-1832), a Swiss painter and... Migration of the Meyere familyBetween the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries, German settlers arrived in North America by the thousands. Persecution based on religion and poverty were great motivators in this large-scale migration. So too was the opportunity for tenant farmers to own their own land. Ample land and opportunity awaited the settlers who went to such states as Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, as well as Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Meyere or a variant listed above: Hans Mayer, who was the first bearer of this name to arrive in the New World. He came to Lancaster, Pa. in 1709. During the next 150 years, close to five hundred bearers of this name came to North America, most arriving in Philadelphia between 1730 and 1760.
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