Auer
A German surname that usually began as a place-name, referring to someone from an area called Aue, Au, or Auer.
The #9,125 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,290 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Auer is most often a German locational surname built from a place-name such as Au, Aue, or a related form. These words go back to Germanic terms for a meadow, water-meadow, or riverside land, so the name originally meant something like "from the meadow/wetland place." In some cases it may also be linked to surnames formed with the suffix -auer, meaning "person from X."
History
The historical references here point to Auer as part of a broader German pattern of names ending in -auer, which commonly identify people by their home village, landscape, or farm. The surname also appears in Jewish naming traditions in German-speaking areas, where similar locational forms were adopted. In English-language records, the name is often associated with German immigration and later American bearers.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
German surname studies often group Auer with many landscape-based names ending in -auer, because the ending usually signals origin from a place or terrain feature rather than a personal characteristic.
From the historical record
“t66^ Bdward Bsiidee and Jane Dover : llarnage AUer. (Canterbary), p. 89. 1801. If amed — George Bandy and Sarab Brant : St. Geo. Han. Sq. ii. 242. London, 3 ; Boston ( U.S-X 8; PhUadel-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)