Feirer
A surname derived from the German word meaning "to celebrate" or "to observe a holiday".
According to the 2000 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Feirer. That puts it at #150,436 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feirer surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Feirer appeared in the 2000 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#150,436
2000 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Feirer in its 2000 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150436th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feirer, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feirer
The surname Feirer is most likely of German origin, and traces back to the Middle Ages. The name is thought to have derived from the Old High German word "feuer," which means "fire." This suggests that the name could initially have been occupational, referencing someone who worked with fire, such as a blacksmith, metalworker, or someone involved in managing kilns or furnaces.
The areas where the surname Feirer originally appeared are primarily in the regions that today comprise Germany and Austria. During the times of the Holy Roman Empire, these regions were known for their metalwork and craftsmanship, giving rise to surnames associated with such trades. Records from the 13th to the 15th centuries show variations of the surname, including Feur, Feurmann, and Feyrer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Feirer appears in the German administrative records from the late 14th century, where a Hans Feirer is listed as a blacksmith in Nuremberg around 1380. Similarly, another early occurrence is that of a Wilhelm Feyrer registered as a metalworker in Augsburg in 1435.
The surname appeared in various historical manuscripts, including the Nürnberg Chronicles, a comprehensive history book from the 15th century, which referenced a master craftsman, Heinrich Feirer, born in 1420 and noted for his work in the establishment of a prominent blacksmith guild. Another notable individual was Johann Feirer, born in 1505, whose contributions to metalwork were well-documented in Augsburg’s trade records.
The name also appears in military records. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), Claus Feirer, born circa 1590, served as an armorer in the service of the Electorate of Bavaria, earning recognition for manufacturing weaponry in 1623.
In the realm of arts and literature, the name is recorded with Maria Feirer, born in 1698, an accomplished silversmith whose works were mentioned in the catalog of artisans in Vienna. Her intricately designed silverware pieces are still celebrated and occasionally displayed in European museums.
Each of these examples illuminates the varied contributions of individuals bearing the Feirer surname, underscoring a rich history primarily linked to craftsmanship and trade in German-speaking regions of Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feirer
Among Census respondents with the surname Feirer, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Feirer bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2000 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Feirer surname at the time of the 2000 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.0%
- Unknown or suppressed4.0%
FAQ
Feirer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feirer?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Feirer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Feirer?
Feirer ranks #150,436 in the 2000 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2000 Census file counted 100 people with the surname Feirer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Feirer.
Has Feirer become more or less common over time?
Feirer appears here with 2000 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Feirer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feirer, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. These figures come from the 2000 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Feirer in the 2000 Census, accounting for 96.0%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feirer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2000 file are White (96.0%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Feirer appears here with 2000 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Feirer mean?
A surname derived from the German word meaning "to celebrate" or "to observe a holiday". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2000 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Feirer (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Feirer?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Feirer, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.