Royer
An occupational surname from French, meaning a wheelwright or wheel-maker.
The #3,203 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,373 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Royer is generally explained as French occupational name. Historical sources connect it with dialectal French royer, meaning a wheelwright or maker of wheels, ultimately from Latin rota, "wheel," through a late Latin form related to rotation or wheel-making. In older French dialect usage, it could also be linked to forms built on roe/roue, the word for a wheel.
History
The name appears in French records in several spellings, including Royer, Leroyer, and Lerouyer. Nineteenth-century surname dictionaries also treated it as a French occupational surname rather than a place-name. It spread beyond France and is now found in the United States, where it is moderately uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
French surname collectors noted that a royer was specifically someone who made wheels or was a wheelwright, a handy clue to the family trade.
From the historical record
“Lat. mons, montis, hill] ROYER (Fr.) Wheelwright [Dial. Fr. royer, L.Lat. rotari-us; f. Lat. rota, a wheel] RUBENSTEIN 1 (Ger.) Ruby-Stone (Ger.- RUBINSTEIN /Jewish nickname) [Ger. rubitt, L.Lat. rubin-us, a ruby ; Lat. rube-US, red -|- Ger. O.H.Ger. iteiB, a stone] SACHS”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)