Mayer Family History
Mayer Surname Meaning
English (Staffordshire): post-medieval form of Mear which is either a topographic name from Middle English mere ‘pond pool’ (Old English mere) or Middle English mere ‘boundary’ (Old English (ge)mǣre) or a habitational name from one or more of the many places with names derived from these terms such as Mere (Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire), Meir in Caverswall (Staffordshire), and Meare (Somerset).
English: occupational name for a physician from Old French mire, Middle English mire, meir, meyre, originally synonymous with Myer. English: occasionally an occupational name for a mayor from Middle English, Old French mair(e) (from Latin maior ‘greater, superior’; compare Mayor).
In France, the title denoted various minor local officials and the same is true of Scotland (see Mair). In England, however, the term was normally restricted to the chief officer of a borough, and the surname may have been given not only to a citizen of some standing who had held this office but also as a nickname to a pompous or officious person.
German and Dutch (of German origin): variant of Meyer. This form of the surname (or its transliteration) is also established in many other parts of Europe most notably in Russia, France (Alsace, Lorraine, and Nord), and Hungary. Compare Myers.
Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a variant of the personal name Meyer (see Meyer). Americanized (or Germanized) form of Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, and German Majer. Dutch: variant, archaic or Americanized of Maijer, an occupational name for a reaper or mower from Middle Dutch mader, Dutch maaier. Altered form of French Canadian Maillé (see Maille).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022