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Payer Family History

Payer Name Meaning

French: variant of Paillé (see Paille ). German: variant of Bayer ‘Bavarian’. Americanized or Germanized form of Czech Slovak and Slovenian Pajer Hungarian Pájer ‘Bavarian’. English: nickname from Middle English paier(e) paiour ‘one who pays (a tax or a debt)’ or perhaps with a different (unrecorded) sense ‘one who appeases or makes peace’. It is a derivative of Old French paiier Middle English paien ‘to please pay (a sum of money)’ and in Old French and Anglo-Norman French also ‘to appease placate make peace’. Compare Poyer .

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022

Similar surnames: Hayer, Mayer, Cater, Poyer, Cayer, Paper, Layer, Sayer, Pryer, Gayer

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Where is the Payer family from?

You can see how Payer families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Payer family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Payer families were found in USA in 1920. In 1911 there were 77 Payer families living in Quebec. This was about 73% of all the recorded Payer's in Canada. Quebec had the highest population of Payer families in 1911.

Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Payer surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Payer

What did your Payer ancestors do for a living?

View Census Data for Payer | Data not to scale

Top Male Occupations In 1921

Journalier
45%
Cultivateur
17%
Farmer
17%
Log Coomer
12%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

Student
100%

Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Payer family records will you find?

Census Records
There are 9,000 census records available for the last name Payer. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Payer census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.
Search Canadian census records for Payer
Passenger Lists
There are 1,000 immigration records available for the last name Payer. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.
View all Payer immigration records
Draft Cards
There are 2,000 military records available for the last name Payer. For the veterans among your Payer ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.
View all Payer military records

Census Records

There are 9,000 census records available for the last name Payer. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Payer census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Payer

Passenger Lists

There are 1,000 immigration records available for the last name Payer. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Payer immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 2,000 military records available for the last name Payer. For the veterans among your Payer ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Payer military records

You've only scratched the surface of Payer family history

Discover More

What is the average Payer lifespan?

Between 1955 and 2004, in the United States, Payer life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1979, and highest in 1983. The average life expectancy for Payer in 1955 was 53, and 75 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Payer

Browse profiles of historical people with the Payer last name