FastNamesMyers Surname
English, German and French surname meaning "Patronymic occupational surname meaning 'son of the mayor' (from Old French/Middle English mair, 'chief magistrate', from Latin maior, 'greater'), or an Anglicized form of German Meyer ('tenant farmer' or 'estate steward').". Ranked 96th in the United States with 229,895 recorded bearers in the 2010 Census (77.9 per 100,000 Americans).
Meaning and origin of the surname Myers
Patronymic occupational surname meaning 'son of the mayor' (from Old French/Middle English mair, 'chief magistrate', from Latin maior, 'greater'), or an Anglicized form of German Meyer ('tenant farmer' or 'estate steward').
Historically and linguistically, Myers belongs to the English, German and French family of surnames. It is conventionally pronounced "MY-ərz".
United States Census frequency and ranking
In the official 2010 United States Census, Myers was recorded 229,895 times, ranking as the 96th most common surname in the nation.
This represents an incidence rate of approximately 77.94 bearers per 100,000 Americans, or roughly 1 out of every 1,283 residents.
Race and ethnicity distribution
According to official decennial Census genealogy microdata, individuals bearing the surname Myersreported the following racial and ethnic affiliations in the 2010 US Census:
| Racial or ethnic group | Share of bearers |
|---|---|
| White | 84.50% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 2.10% |
| Black or African American | 10.54% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.50% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.55% |
| Two or more races | 1.80% |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Surnames Data. Percentages may not sum to exactly 100% due to independent rounding or suppression of small cell counts for privacy protection.
History of the surname Myers
Myers encompasses convergent English and German onomastic lineages. In England, it developed as an occupational surname from the Middle English noun mair or mayre (derived from Old French maire, rooted in Latin maior, meaning 'greater' or 'superior'), designating the chief municipal officer, magistrate, or headman of a medieval borough. The terminal -s represents a patronymic genitive ('son of the mayor'). In German contexts, Myers arose as an Anglicized orthographic assimilation of Meyer or Meier (from Middle High German meier, denoting an estate manager, bailiff, or prominent tenant farmer).
In England, medieval administrative documents record early commoner and municipal entries, including David le Meir in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273 and Robertus Mayresson in the Poll Tax returns of Yorkshire in 1379. In Central Europe, German and Swiss Meyers spread widely throughout the Rhine valley and Alsace. Following seventeenth- and eighteenth-century German emigration from the Palatinate to colonial Pennsylvania (the 'Pennsylvania Dutch'), phonetic English recording clerks systematically standardized German Meyer, Meier, and Mayer into Myers.
Myers families established prominent agricultural and mercantile lineages across Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and the Ohio River Valley. In the 2010 United States Census, Myers ranked 96th nationwide with 229,895 recorded individuals, exhibiting wide demographic distribution across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Appalachian states.
Notable people with the surname Myers
- Mike Myers (1963–), Canadian actor, comedian, and screenwriter known for Austin Powers and Shrek
- Walter Dean Myers (1937–2014), American author of young adult literature known for Monster
- Richard Myers (1942–), U.S. Air Force four-star general and 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Wil Myers (1990–), American MLB player and 2013 AL Rookie of the Year
Variants and related surnames
Spelling variants
Related surnames
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland (2016), p. 1905.
- P. H. Reaney, R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (1997), p. 301.
- U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Surnames Data (2016). Reference link.