Lauer
A German surname with a few possible roots, most often linked either to a place-name element or to an older personal-name form.
The #3,161 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,050 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The sources point to more than one possible origin. In German family-name studies, Lauer can be connected with a place-name element based on Loh, meaning a grove or wooded area, especially in forms like Eisenlauer or Heckenlauer. Another line of scholarship links it to older personal-name material from Liud- names, though that is less certain for this surname specifically. The modern surname may therefore be locational in some families and historically tied to older name-formation in others.
History
The name appears in German-speaking regions and has several related surname forms, which suggests independent or overlapping origins rather than one single source for every family. Historical surname studies also compare it with regional place-names and with older Germanic naming elements. In the United States it is a relatively uncommon surname, consistent with immigration from German-speaking areas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname writers grouped Lauer with other German names ending in -lauer, noting that the element could point to a grove- or woodland-related place-name.
From the historical record
“also parishes styled Gotham in diocs^ of Southwell, and Glouc. and Bristol. This laUer is nearer the original form. lphndeCotBm,oj.Nortlminl”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances