Explore the Family Name Troyer
The meaning of Troyer
1. Altered form of Swiss German Treyer, a cognate of 2 below and 3 below or a variant of Dreyer. 2. German: variant of Treuer (and, in North America, probably also an altered form of this), in the south a topographic name for someone who lived by a cattle track (Treyen, from Latin trivium ‘trail’), in the north an occupational name derived from Middle Low German troye ‘jerkin’ (compare 5 below). The surname Troyer is very rare in Germany. 3. Americanized form of Austrian German Trojer: topographic name derived from South German dialect troi ‘cattle track’, a cognate of 2 above. 4. Americanized form of Slovenian Trojer or Trojar, topographic names of the same South German origin as 3 above. 5. In some cases possibly also Flemish (De Troyer): occupational name for a maker of jerkins (see Troy 4). History: This (see 1 above) is the name of a Swiss Mennonite and Amish family from the canton of Bern, Switzerland, originally spelled Treyer, but among the 17th-century refugees in the Palatinate in Germany and the 18th-century immigrants to PA altered to Troyer.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Troyer in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Troyer has shown a significant increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In year 2000, Troyer was ranked 2,536th in terms of commonality, but by 2010, it had jumped to 2,132nd place, marking a change of 15.93%. Additionally, the count of individuals with this last name grew from 13,091 to 16,981 during the same period, an increase of 29.72%. The proportion of people named Troyer per 100,000 also rose by 18.76%, from 4.85 to 5.76.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,536 | #2,132 | 15.93% |
| Count | 13,091 | 16,981 | 29.72% |
| Proportion per 100k | 4.85 | 5.76 | 18.76% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Troyer
In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data for the surname Troyer indicates that the majority of individuals identify as White, although there has been a slight decrease of 0.33% from 2000 to 2010, from 98.28% to 97.96%. There have been small increases in other categories: the percentage identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander rose by 4.76%, those identifying as Black saw an 8.33% increase, and those who identify with two or more races increased by 26.53%. The Hispanic category also saw a growth of 25.00%. The American Indian and Alaskan Native category remained stable with no change over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 98.28% | 97.96% | -0.33% |
| Hispanic | 0.6% | 0.75% | 25% |
| Two or More Races | 0.49% | 0.62% | 26.53% |
| Black | 0.24% | 0.26% | 8.33% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.21% | 0.22% | 4.76% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.19% | 0.19% | 0% |
Troyer ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Troyer is French & German, which comprises 58.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (28.4%) and Eastern European (3.1%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Indigenous American, and Chinese.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| French & German | 58.1% |
| British & Irish | 28.4% |
| Eastern European | 3.1% |
| Other | 10.4% |
Possible origins of the surname Troyer
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Troyer have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 78.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 78.20% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 78.20% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 77.60% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 77.60% |
What Troyer haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Troyer is I-Y7477, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Y7477 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include I-M253 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Fraley, Markley, Fulmer, Dubois, Weiser, Stamm, Halter, Siebert, Marr, Seibert.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Troyer surname are: H1, H, H7. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Troyer have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Troyer" Surname 46.8%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Troyer" Surname 37.8%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Troyer" Surname 22.9%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Troyer" Surname 16.3%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Troyer?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Troyer are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition