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Myer History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Myer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Israel

The ancestral home of the Myer family is in the German state of Bavaria. The name Myer 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 Myer family

The surname Myer 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 Myer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Myer 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 Myer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Myer Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Myer include Mayer, Maier, Meyer, Meier, Mayr, Meyr, Myer and many more.

Early Notables of the Myer family

Prominent among members of the name Myer 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...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Myer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Myer Ranking

In the United States, the name Myer is the 5,393^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Myer migration to the United States +

Between 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 Myer or a variant listed above:

Myer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Christean Myer, aged 73, who arrived in New York in 1672 2

Myer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Caspar Myer, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1736 2
Gasper Myer, who arrived in South Carolina in 1738 2
Saloman Myer, who landed in Carolina in 1738 2
Hans Myer, aged 40, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1739 2
Johan Reedy Myer, aged 16, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1739 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Myer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Bartholomew Myer, aged 17, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1832 2
Michael Myer, who landed in New York in 1832 2
Philan Myer, aged 15, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1832 2
Jacob Myer, aged 50, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1832 2
Margaret Myer, aged 20, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1832 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Myer migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Myer Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Ludwig Myer, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 18th August 1859 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Myer (post 1700) +

Sidney Baillieu "Bails" Myer AC (1926-2022), American-born, Australian businessman and philanthropist, he oversaw the merger with GJ Coles & Coy to create Coles Myer, one of the largest retail chains in Australia
Kenneth Baillieu Myer AC DSC (1921-1992), American-born, Australian patron of the arts, humanities and sciences
Jarret Myer (b. 1973), American media entrepreneur
Steve Paul Myer (b. 1954), former professional American football player
James Myer (b. 1951), American documentarist and educational filmmaker
Albert James Myer (1828-1880), American surgeon, United States Army officer
Charles Solomon "Buddy" Myer (1904-1974), American Major League Baseball second baseman
George W. Myer, American politician, Representative from New York 6th District, 1888 4
George J. Myer, American Republican politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Lisbon, 1906 4
Erskin R. Myer, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Colorado, 1944 4
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html