The Archer surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 34,949 people carried this name — #1,000 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,440 people counted. That is up 5% from 33,411 in 2000.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 883 people named Archer.
24 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 50 départements, most often Haute-Loire.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 15 births for the Archer name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Armagh, Antrim, and Dublin.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
43 people named Archer live in Switzerland.
They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
98 people named Archer are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Archer in American newspapers,
1874–1922.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 457,775 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Archer,
with a public archive behind them.
-
John Archer 1598–1682 · judge -
Elizabeth Archer 1655–1709 -
Thomas Archer 1668–1743 · architect -
James Archer 1751–1834 · priest -
James Tillinghast Archer 1819–1859 · lawyer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 211 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Archer.
- Arcangeli 215 · U.S. census
- Arcaro 721 · U.S. census
- Arce 19,464 · U.S. census
- Archambault 4,391 · U.S. census
- Archambeau 1,055 · U.S. census
- Arche 152 · U.S. census
- Arcidiacono 487 · U.S. census
- Arcos 4,132 · U.S. census
- Arcuri 2,349 · U.S. census
- Arditi 164 · U.S. census
- Ardito 1,141 · U.S. census
- Ardoin 3,955 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Archer is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.