Meyer
Masculine · “steward”
Meyer is given to both — 5,404 boys and 208 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Meyer means a steward, and in Jewish use it means something else entirely — it stood in for the Hebrew Meir, 'one who shines', which is why so many Meyers had a quite different name in synagogue.
How old is the name Meyer?
Meyer first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Meyer alive today was born around 1926, making them about 99 years old. About 2,100 people named Meyer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Meyer most popular?
Meyer peaked in 1912, reaching #301 nationally. Today it ranks #1688, 1,387 places below that high. See the whole 1912 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From maior to Meyer
The story of Meyer
Meier was one of the commonest German occupational surnames, and Jewish families in German-speaking lands took it in large numbers — often specifically because it echoed the Hebrew Meir. Emigration brought it to America from the 1840s onward, where it served as both surname and given name. Meyer as a first name peaked in American records around 1915.
Meaningscholars disagree
steward; one who shines
The German Meier or Meyer means a steward or tenant farmer, from the Latin maior, 'greater'. Separately, Ashkenazi families used Meyer as the vernacular pairing for the Hebrew Meir, 'one who gives light', which is a different word entirely. Both are real and both fed the American name.
How the name formed
- maior
- Meier
- Meyer
Related forms: Meier · Meir · Meyer
Pronouncing Meyer
MY-ur
Two syllables, stress on the first. German Meier is said the same way; the Hebrew Meir is may-EER.
Nicknames for Meyer
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 1915203 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #301reached in 1912
- Change vs 2022
- +7.8%97 in 2025, from 90
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Meyer in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Meier in German — spelling variant
- Meir in Hebrew — related form
- Meyer in Yiddish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Texas.
Meyers among us
people named Meyer are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 17,609 born in 2025 was named Meyer
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Meyer sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Meyer is headed
Meyer should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Meyer beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Meyer in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two quite different traditions stand behind it, one German and one Hebrew.
- The Hebrew Meir — one who shines — is an unusually good meaning.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- It reads as a surname to many people, which is what it mostly is.
- The two origins are unrelated despite the pairing.
- It is strongly period-coded to the early twentieth century.
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Meyer
Masculine · #1688 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Meyers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Meyer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Meyer in 2025?
- Meyer ranks #1688 among US boy names in 2025, with 97 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Meyer?
- About 1 in every 17,609 US boys born in 2025 was named Meyer — 97 in all.
- Will my child share the name Meyer with classmates?
- Meyer will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Meyer
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Yaman#1688 · Ransom#1688 · Alister#1688 · Viggo#1688 · Raylen#1688 · Caelum#1688 · Darrell#1688 · Naim#1688
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Meyer? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Meyer and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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