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Meyer (surname)

This article is about the surname and a list of people with the surname. For other uses, see Meyer.
Not to be confused with Meier (surname).
Meyer
Origin
Region of originGerman-speaking Europe, Netherlands, Flanders, Eastern Europe
Look up Meyer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Meyer is an originally German, Dutch and Jewish surname. With its numerous variants (Myer, Meyr, Meier, Meijer, Mayer, Maier, Mayr, Mair, Miers, etc.), it is a common German surname.[1] Its original meaning in Middle High German is from mei(g)er, "manager (of a lord's country estate)", derived from Latin maior domus, i.e. "headman of a household" (cf. mayor), later on also meaning "tenant" or "(free) farmer". It is therefore a rough equivalent of the English Steward, which has also been turned into surnames such as Stuart.

This appellation was also frequently used to form longer, more specific surnames such as Bergmair or Niedermeier. Some German Jews adopted Meyer or a variant thereof as a surname when they assimilated to German culture in the 18th century, as it is close to the Hebrew first name Me'ir (מֵאִיר), "shining, enlightened".[2]

  1. ^ "Most Common Last Names In Germany". Forebears. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  2. ^ Anita Diamant, The New Jewish Baby Book: Names, Ceremonies, Customs: A Guide for Today's Families (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1993).

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