The mayer Surname
mayer Name Meaning and History
- English: status name for a mayor, Middle English, Old French mair(e) (from Latin maior ‘greater’, ‘superior’; compare Mayor). In France the title denoted various minor local officials, and the same is true of Scotland (see Mair 1). In England, however, the term was normally restricted to the chief officer of a borough, and the surname may have been given not only to a citizen of some standing who had held this office, but also as a nickname to a pompous or officious person.
- German and Dutch: variant of Meyer 1.
- Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Meyer 2.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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