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[Surname] JEWISH ???????
Iam interested in the name MAYER in and around the Glasgow area.
would this have been the actual name they arrived with when they came to the british isles.
any information would be appreciated.thank you Barbara
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Mayer can have a number of different origins so there are many possibilities. The two most likely in this case are the English name Mayer whose origin you'll find at http://www.ancestry.com/facts/mayer-name-meaning.ashx and a variant of the Scottish name Mair which you'll find at http://www.ancestry.com/facts/mair-name-meaning.ashx
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Mayer was a common Jewish name in the Alsace and Rhineland regions. It's origin is the Hebrew Meir, meaning light.
The name is also sometimes spelled Meyer.
Have you tried looking in the Scottish Censuses (1841-1901)on ancestry.com?
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