The Geer surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,717 people carried this name — #4,074 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 33,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 8,509 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Geer surname

As an English surname, spelling variant of Geary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Geer» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

92 families named Geer, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 543 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 49
Massachusetts 9
New Hampshire 8
Pennsylvania 8
New York 7
Vermont 4
Maryland 2
Virginia 2
North Carolina 2
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 241 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Geer in American newspapers,
1898–1919.

Newspaper page from The Courier carrying the name Geer
The Courier 1898-07-16
Newspaper page from Evening Times-republican carrying the name Geer
Evening Times-republican 1914-06-11
Newspaper page from Baptist Courier carrying the name Geer
Baptist Courier 1919-07-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Geer in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

3,240 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Geer. The most, 601, date from the 1950s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,451
New South Wales 1,104
South Australia 206
Tasmania 204
Western Australia 154
Queensland 100
ACT (Canberra) 12
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Geer.

Who carried it

People named Geer,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jacquelina Elisabet de Geer af Leufsta
    Jacquelina Elisabet de Geer af Leufsta 1744–1780
  • Charlotta Aurora De Geer
    Charlotta Aurora De Geer 1779–1834 · lady-in-waiting
  • Emerson Geer
    Emerson Geer 1835–1886 · politician
  • Theodore Thurston Geer
    Theodore Thurston Geer 1851–1924 · politician
  • Rebecca Geer d. 1840
  • Louys de Geer af Finspång 1705–1758

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Geer,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States748 records

748 records of the Geer name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 310
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 144
  • Other U.S. records 294
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jerome B. Geer

    Born 1917 in Oregon. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; ironworker from Multnomah County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1978, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johann Geer

    Arrived at New York in 1883 aboard the Werra from Bremen, aged 18; farmer. From Bavaria, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard Price Geer

    Born 1930; from Huron County, Ohio. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman - parachutist; killed in action 1951 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 748 records for Geer in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia91 records

91 records of the Geer name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 28
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 26
  • Other Australian records 37
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James Haskell Geer

    Married 1893 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 37. Died 1929 in Tasmania, aged 73.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sarah Geer

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the True Briton, aged 34; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elsie Victoria M. Geer

    Gentlewoman of McCrae, Victoria; died 1976.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 91 records for Geer in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands60 records

60 records of the Geer name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 28
  • Dutch population registers 25
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Doris Geer

    Died 1816 in Charlois, aged 86.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Gerhard Johan Geer

    Died 1841 in Deventer; born in Deventer.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Aris Geer

    Married in 1724 in Mijdrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 60 records for Geer in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany16 records

16 records of the Geer name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Waldemar Geer

    From Nessenberg, Wöbbel. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 3 August 1916 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 218).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Rupert Geer

    From Pasing, Oberb. Reported missing in the Bavarian casualty list of 13 July 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 16).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Ferdinand Geer

    From Ergersheim, Mittelfr. Reported missing in the Bavarian casualty list of 22 June 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Geer in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Canada11 records

11 records of the Geer name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 4
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Other Canadian records 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marion Jean Geer

    Buried in 1930 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Geer

    Died 1871 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Roy Albert Geer

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 11 records for Geer in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Geer name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. G. Geer

    Tank Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Geer.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Geer 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.

See the Geer volume
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