Meyer (surname)
{{About|the surname and a list of people with the surname|other uses|Meyer (disambiguation){{!}}Meyer}}
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{{wiktionary|Meyer}}
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.{{cite web |title=Most Common Last Names In Germany |url=https://forebears.io/germany/surnames |website=Forebears |access-date=4 September 2022}} 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 Bachmeier, 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".Anita Diamant, The New Jewish Baby Book: Names, Ceremonies, Customs: A Guide for Today's Families (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1993).
Geographical distribution
In 2014, the surname Meyer was most often found (by percentage of the population) in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and South Africa. The name ranked 6th in Germany and 8th in Switzerland.{{Cite web |title=Meyer Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History |url=https://forebears.io/surnames/meyer |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=forebears.io}}
Notable people
=A–D=
- Adolf Meyer (architect) (1881–1921), German architect
- Adolf Bernhard Meyer (1840–1911), German ornithologist
- Albert Meyer (politician) (1870–1953), Swiss politician
- Albert Gregory Meyer (1903–1965), Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago
- Alfred Meyer (1891–1945), German politician
- Alfred Meyer, from 1903 Alfred Meyer-Waldeck (1864–1928), German admiral
- Anita Meyer (born 1954), Dutch singer
- Anthony Meyer (1920–2004), British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative Party politician
- Antoine Meyer (1801–1857), Belgian mathematician
- Axel Meyer (born 1960), German evolutionary biologist
- Bernard F. Meyer (1898–1975), American Catholic missionary to China
- Bernard S. Meyer (1916–2005), New York judge
- Bernhard Meyer (1767–1836), German physician and naturalist
- Bertrand Meyer (born 1950), French computer scientist, designed the Eiffel programming language
- Bill Meyer (artist) (born 1942), Australian artist
- Birgit Meyer (born 1960), Dutch religious studies scholar
- Bob Meyer (born 1939), American baseball player
- Breckin Meyer (born 1974), American actor and producer
- Bunny Meyer (born 1985), American YouTube vlogger
- Cameron Meyer (born 1988), Australian professional racing cyclist
- Carlos Enrique Meyer (born 1953), Argentine businessman and politician
- Christian Meyer (disambiguation)
- Christoph Meyer (born 1975), German politician
- Christopher Meyer (1944–2022), British Ambassador to the U.S.
- Clara Meyer (1864–1920), Danish-Swedish patron of the arts
- Colleen Meyer (1939–2015), American politician and businesswoman
- Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825–1898), Swiss poet and writer
- Cord Meyer (1920–2001), American Central Intelligence Agency official
- Dakota Meyer (born 1988), U.S. Medal of Honor recipient
- Daniel P. Meyer (born 1965), American attorney, federal whistleblowing advocate
- Debbie Meyer (born 1952), U.S. Olympic swimmer
- Deon Meyer (born 1958), South African thriller novelist
- Dina Meyer (born 1968), U.S. actor
- Dirk Meyer, U.S. microprocessor designer
- Don Meyer (1944–2014), American basketball coach
- Drew Meyer (born 1981), American baseball player
- Dutch Meyer (1898–1982), American college sports coach
=E–K=
- Edgar Meyer (born 1960), U.S. double bassist
- Eduard Meyer (1855–1930), German historian
- Edward C. Meyer (1928–2020), U.S. Army general, former Army Chief of Staff
- Elana Meyer (born 1966), South African long-distance runner
- Eric Meyer (disambiguation), various people
- Ernest Meyer (1865–1919), French equestrian
- Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer (1791–1858), German botanist and historian of botany
- Ernst Hermann Meyer (1905–1988), German composer, pianist, and musicologist
- Eugene Meyer (financier) (1875–1959), American financier and newspaper publisher, former Federal Reserve Chairman
- Florence Meyer (1911–1962), American portrait photographer
- Frank Meyer (political philosopher) (1909–1972), U.S. conservative political philosopher
- Franz Sales Meyer (1849–1927), German painter and writer, known for A Handbook of Ornament
- Fred G. Meyer (1886–1978), U.S. retailer
- Frederick Brotherton Meyer (1847–1929), British Baptist preacher
- Fridel Meyer (1904–1982), German-born long-distance kayaker, emigrated to England
- Georg Meyer (aviator) (1893–1926), German World War I flying ace
- George Meyer (born 1956), U.S. TV comedy writer
- George Meyer (soccer), American soccer coach
- George von Lengerke Meyer (1858–1918), U.S. Secretary of the Navy
- Greg Meyer (born 1955), American long-distance runner
- Gwendolyn Sontheim Meyer, Cargill heiress and equestrian
- Hajo Meyer (1924–2014), German-Dutch physicist and Jewish political activist
- Hannes Meyer (1889–1954), Swiss architect and director of the Bauhaus
- Hans Meyer (1858–1929), Austrian geographer and mountaineer
- Hans Horst Meyer (1853–1939), German physician and pharmacologist
- Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (1800–1873), German Protestant pastor and theologian
- Henry Meyer (disambiguation)
- Heyneke Meyer (born 1967), South African rugby union coach
- Hubert Meyer (1913–2012), German Waffen-SS officer
- Ilan Meyer (born 1956), American psychiatric epidemiologist
- J. Edward Meyer (born 1935), American politician
- Jack Meyer (1932–1967), American professional baseball player
- Jacob O. Meyer, Directing Elder of the Assemblies of Yahweh
- Jean Jacques Meyer (1804–1877), French locomotive designer
- Jeffrey A. Meyer (1963–2025), United States district judge
- Jeromie Meyer (born 1997), American wheelchair basketball player
- Jessica Kate Meyer, American actress and rabbi
- Joachim Meyer, German fencer, wrote Fundamental Descriptions of the Art of Fencing (1570)
- Joe-Fio Neenyann Meyer (1918–?), Ghanaian diplomat
- Johan Meyer (died 1901), German-born pioneer of the Queensland Gold Coast
- Johan Meyer (born 1993), South African rugby union player
- Johann Friedrich Meyer (1705–1765), German chemist
- Johannes Meyer (actor) (1884–1972), Danish film actor
- John Meyer (disambiguation)
- John C. Meyer (1919–1975), U.S. air force officer
- Joseph Meyer (publisher) (1796–1856), German industrialist and publisher
- Joseph Meyer (songwriter) (1894–1987), American songwriter
- Joseph A. Meyer (c. 1895 – 1970), American college sports coach
- Joyce Meyer (born 1943), U.S. Christian Charismatic speaker and writer
- Julius Lothar Meyer (1830–1895), German chemist
- Karl Meyer (activist), American pacifist, activist, Catholic worker and tax resister
- Karl E. Meyer, American journalist
- Karl Friedrich Meyer (1884–1974), Swiss-born American pathologist
- Katherine Meyer Graham (1917–2001), American publisher
- Katie Meyer (2000–2022), American soccer player
- Kenneth J. Meyer, American politician
- Kerstin Meyer (1928–2020), Swedish mezzo-soprano
- Kirstine Meyer (1861–1941), Danish physicist
- Klaus Meyer (1937–2014), German football player
- Krzysztof Meyer (born 1943), Polish composer
- Kurt Meyer (Lucerne) (born 1944), Swiss politician
- Kurt Meyer (Panzermeyer) (1910–1961), German officer in the Waffen-SS
=L–Z=
- Laurenz Meyer (born 1948), German politician
- Lena Meyer-Landrut (born 1991), German singer
- Léon Meyer (1868–1948), French politician
- Léone-Noëlle Meyer (born 1939), French businesswoman and philanthropist
- Lodewijk Meyer (1629–1681), Dutch physician, classical scholar, translator, lexicographer, and playwright
- Lucy Rider Meyer (1849–1922), American educator, physician, author, and social worker
- Lyndsay Meyer (born 1973), US-American ski mountaineer
- Maile Meyer (born 1957), Native Hawaiian activist and entrepreneur
- Marany Meyer (born 1984), South African and New Zealand chess player
- Marc Eugene Meyer (1842–1925), U.S. businessman
- Mark Meyer (Wisconsin politician) (born 1963), U.S. politician
- Marshall Meyer (1930–1993), U.S. rabbi and human rights activist
- Martin A. Meyer (1879–1923), American rabbi
- Mary Meyer (1917–1994), Dutch fencer
- Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer (1920–1964), American painter, romantic partner of President John F. Kennedy
- Matt Meyer (born 1971), governor of Delaware
- Maud Meyer, Sierra Leonean Nigerian singer
- Max Meyer (disambiguation), several people
- Michele Meyer, American politician
- Miriah Meyer, American computer scientist
- Nathan Meyer (born 1982), South African Paralympian
- Nicholas Meyer (born 1945), U.S. film-maker
- Pat Meyer (born 1972), American football player and coach
- Paul Meyer (philologist) (1840–1917), French philologist
- Paul-André Meyer (1934–2003), French mathematician
- Peyton Meyer (born 1998), American actor
- Philipp Meyer (born 1974), American author
- Philipp Meyer (politician) (1892–1962), German politician
- Ray Meyer (1913–2006), U.S. basketball coach
- Rémo Meyer (born 1980), Swiss football (soccer) player
- Rich Meyer (born 1985), American bassist
- Robert B. Meyer (born 1943), American physicist
- Roelf Meyer (born 1947), South African politician
- Russ Meyer (1922–2004), U.S. filmmaker
- Sabine Meyer (born 1959), German clarinettist
- Sarah E. Meyer, American animation artist
- Schuyler M. Meyer (1885–1970), New York politician
- Scott Meyer, American author, comedian, and artist
- Selma Meyer, Dutch pacifist, feminist and resistance fighter of Jewish origin
- Stephen C. Meyer (born 1958), U.S. philosopher of science and Intelligent Design proponent
- Stephenie Meyer (born 1973), American author best known as creator of the Twilight series
- Sven Meyer (figure skater), German figure skater
- Sven Meyer (footballer) (born 1970), German footballer
- Sydney Meyer (born 1995), Canadian actress
- Ted Meyer, rugby league footballer of the 1930s for New Zealand, and Northland
- Thérèse Meyer (born 1948), Swiss politician
- Thomas Meyer zu Schlochtern (born 1946), Dutch art curator
- Urban Meyer (born 1964), American college football coach
- Viktor Meyer (1848–1897), German chemist
- Wilhelm Meyer (physician) (1824–1895), Danish physician, discovered adenoids and invented adenoidectomy
- William Meyer (disambiguation)
- Wolfgang Meyer (1954–2019), German clarinettist and professor of clarinet
- Yves Meyer (born 1939), French mathematician and scientist