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Payer Family History

Payer Surname Meaning

French: variant of Paillé (see Paille). German: variant of Bayer ‘Bavarian’. Americanized or Germanized form of Czech, Slovak, and Slovenian Pajer and Hungarian Pájer ‘Bavarian’.

English: nickname from Middle English paier(e) paiour ‘one who pays (a tax or a debt)’ or perhaps with a different (unrecorded) sense ‘one who appeases or makes peace’.

It is a derivative of Old French paiier, Middle English paien ‘to please, pay (a sum of money)’ and in Old French and Anglo-Norman French also ‘to appease, placate, make peace’.

Compare Poyer.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Payer family from?

You can see how Payer families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Payer family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Payer families were found in USA in 1920. In 1891 there were 49 Payer families living in London. This was about 27% of all the recorded Payer's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Payer families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Payer surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Payer ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, Unpaid Domestic Duties was the top reported job for people in the United Kingdom named Payer. 57% of Payer women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties.

View Census Data for Payer | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    57%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    14%
  • Domestic Duties
    10%
  • Private Means
    7%

What Payer family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 9,000 census records available for the last name Payer. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Payer census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Payer

Passenger Lists

There are 1,000 immigration records available for the last name Payer. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Payer immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 2,000 military records available for the last name Payer. For the veterans among your Payer ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Payer military records

You've only scratched the surface of Payer family history

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What is the average Payer lifespan?

Between 1955 and 2004, in the United States, Payer life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1979, and highest in 1983. The average life expectancy for Payer in 1955 was 53, and 75 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Payer

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Payer ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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