Show ContentsBayer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Bayer

What does the name Bayer mean?

The surname Bayer was first used by the descendants of a Boernician family of ancient Scotland. They lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed. 1 Thus, Byers is of two derivations, topographical and habitational.

Alternatively, the name could have been Norman in origin originating a "the chateau of Biars in the canton of Isigni, La Manche, Normandy. " 2 3

Early Origins of the Bayer family

The surname Bayer was first found in East Lothian, where they held a family seat from ancient times. One of the first records of the name related to the place name as in David de Lindsay the younger, also called David Lindsay of the Byres (died 1279), a 13th century Scottish knight and crusader. John de Pyres appears as a monk of Neubotle in 1309. Thome de Byris owned a tenement in Edinburgh in 1392, and in 1534 Thomas Byrs was admitted burgess of Aberdeen. 4 Today, Byres Road is a famous street located in Hillhead, Glasgow.

In England, the first record of the family was found in Devon where Elias de la Byare was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. A few years later, Willelmus del Byre was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301 and later again, John Buyres was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 5

Early History of the Bayer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bayer research. Another 141 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1309, 1392, 1534, 1593, 1639, 1653, 1681, 1690, 1694, 1733, 1750, 1790, 1817 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Bayer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bayer Spelling Variations

A lack of rules and the tendency of scribes to spell according to the sound of the word plagued medieval spelling. Not surprisingly, an enormous number of spelling variations appeared. Bayer has been written Byers, Byres, Byer, Buyers, Byris and others.

Early Notables of the Bayer family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Nicholas Byer (d. 1681), Norwegian painter, a native of Drontheim in Norway. He practised portrait and historical painting, and on emigrating to England found a steady patron in Sir William Temple, at whose seat at Sheen, in Surrey, he lived for three or four years. His reputation as a face-painter must have been considerable; several persons of distinction, including some members of the royal family, sat to him. Dying at Sheen in 1681 he is said to have been the first person buried at...
Another 91 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bayer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bayer Ranking

In the United States, the name Bayer is the 3,550th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Bayer family to Ireland

Some of the Bayer family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Bayer migration to the United States +

Many Scots crossed the Atlantic for North America hoping to escape poverty, as well as persecution. Much of their heritage was lost along the way and overtime. This century, however, Clan societies and highland games have allowed many ancestral Scots to recover their birthright. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Bayer arrived in North America very early:

Bayer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Jacob Bayer, who arrived in New York in 1715 7
  • Catharina Bayer, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1720 7
  • Christopher Bayer, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 7
  • Anna Bayer, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 7
  • Katharina Bayer, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bayer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Joh Bayer, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1800 7
  • Louis Bayer, who landed in New York, NY in 1836 7
  • Kung Bayer, aged 8, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1845 7
  • Mary Bayer, aged 4, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1845 7
  • Marg Bayer, aged 11, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1845 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bayer migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bayer Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Emilia Bayer, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1897

Bayer migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bayer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Bawden Bayer, aged 24, a miner, who arrived in South Australia in 1857 aboard the ship "Sumner"

Bayer migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bayer Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Eva Bayer, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen Bee" in 1872

Contemporary Notables of the name Bayer (post 1700) +

  • Friedrich Bayer (1825-1880), German founder of what would become Bayer, the German chemical and pharmaceutical company in 1863
  • Herbert Bayer (1900-1985), Austrian-born, American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor and art director
  • Frederick Merkle Bayer (1921-2007), American emeritus curator of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History
  • Bryce E. Bayer (1929-2012), American scientist for Kodak who invented the Bayer filter
  • Samuel David Bayer (b. 1965), American visual artist, cinematographer, commercial, music video and film director
  • Thomas Bayer, American public relations expert
  • Alvin Bayer III, prominent Florida dentist, chairman of the Nassau County Cancer Society, and chairman of the Nassau County United Fund
  • Osvaldo Bayer (b. 1927), Argentine writer and journalist
  • Josef Bayer (1852-1913), Austrian composer and the director of the Austrian Court Ballet from 1883 until his death
  • Carl Josef Bayer (1847-1904), Austrian chemist who invented the Bayer process of extracting alumina from bauxite
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bismarck
  • Ernst Bayer (1922-1941), German Matrose who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 8
Halifax Explosion
  • Miss Dolly Marguerite  Bayer (1898-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 9


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  7. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  8. Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details
  9. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance


Houseofnames.com on Facebook