Given name & surname · also German
Messer
“knife”
Messer is a surname from German (ultimately Old French).
Original GermanMesserle
Meaning & origin
What it means
Messer goes back to German Messer, meaning “knife.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Messer comes from German, and ultimately from Old French.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From German Messer (“knife”), from Old French messier (“harvest warden”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2012. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Messer through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 85
- 85 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 22 babies
- 2025
- 22
- #4,641 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 22 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,641 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 19,034 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Messer’s family of names
In English usage, Messer as a surname has a related form in MASSER. In German usage, Messer as a surname has a related form in MESSERLE.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Messer, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mister
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“poor”
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“glutton”
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Deluca
Deluca is a surname from Italian.
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Brasher
Brasher is a surname from Old French.
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Beckman
Beckman is a surname from German.
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Ripp
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Biden
“button”
>99% boys