Byer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The history of the Byer family begins in the Boernician tribes of ancient Scotland. The Byer family lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed. 1 Thus, Byers is of two derivations, topographical and habitational.
Alternatively, the name could have been Norman in origin originating a "the chateau of Biars in the canton of Isigni, La Manche, Normandy. " 2 3
Early Origins of the Byer family
The surname Byer was first found in East Lothian, where they held a family seat from ancient times. One of the first records of the name related to the place name as in David de Lindsay the younger, also called David Lindsay of the Byres (died 1279), a 13th century Scottish knight and crusader. John de Pyres appears as a monk of Neubotle in 1309. Thome de Byris owned a tenement in Edinburgh in 1392, and in 1534 Thomas Byrs was admitted burgess of Aberdeen. 4 Today, Byres Road is a famous street located in Hillhead, Glasgow.
In England, the first record of the family was found in Devon where Elias de la Byare was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. A few years later, Willelmus del Byre was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301 and later again, John Buyres was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 5
Early History of the Byer family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Byer research. Another 141 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1309, 1392, 1534, 1593, 1639, 1653, 1681, 1690, 1694, 1733, 1750, 1790, 1817 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Byer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Byer Spelling Variations
Before the first dictionaries and printing presses went into use in the last few hundred years, spelling, particularly of names, was a largely intuitive matter. Consequently, many spelling variations occur in even the simplest names from the Middle Ages. Byer has been spelled Byers, Byres, Byer, Buyers, Byris and others.
Early Notables of the Byer family
Notable amongst the family at this time was
- Nicholas Byer (d. 1681), Norwegian painter, a native of Drontheim in Norway. He practised portrait and historical painting, and on emigrating to England found a steady patron in Sir William Temple, at...
- James Byers or Byres (1733-1817), Scottish architect and archaeologist, died at his seat Tonley, in the parish of Tough, Aberdeenshire, on 3 Sept. 1817, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. During a...
Byer Ranking
In the United States, the name Byer is the 9,360th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6
Migration of the Byer family to Ireland
Some of the Byer family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Byer migration to the United States +
The east coasts of the United States and Canada are still populated by many of the descendents of the Boernician-Scottish families who made that great crossing. They distributed themselves evenly when they first arrived, but at the time of the War of Independence those who remained loyal to England went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. This century, many of their ancestors have recovered their past heritage through highland games and other Scottish functions in North America. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that many immigrants bearing the name Byer or a variant listed above:
Byer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- William Byer, who landed in Virginia in 1653 7
Byer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Johanes Byer, aged 19, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 7
- Nicholas Byer, aged 45, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1740 7
- Samuel Byer, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 7
- John Byer, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 7
- Carl Byer, who arrived in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1754 7
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Byer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Francis Byer, aged 38, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Maryland in 1839 7
- Jacob Byer, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 7
- Matthew Byer, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 7
- Henry, Jacob, and Nicholas Byer who, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1738 and 1844
- Cyprian Byer, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 7
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Byer migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Byer Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- David Byer, who landed in Canada in 1834
Byer migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Byer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Jean Byer, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Lismoyne"
Contemporary Notables of the name Byer (post 1700) +
- Nicole Byer (b. 1986), born in New Jersey an American comedian, actress, writer, television host, and podcaster. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series Nailed It! Which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for
- Kathryn Stripling Byer (b. 1944), American poet and essayist whose work has appeared in numerous prestigious poetry and scholarly journals
Citations +
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- "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)