The surname Byers derives from a locational name 'by the byre', an Old English name for a cow shed or cattle pen used by farmers from at least the 13th century. As early as 1787, Byers were located in Co. Durham which, with 873 individuals recorded within the 1881 census, accounted for more than 43 percent of all English Byers families. However, the greatest density lies to the north in lowland Scotland accounting for approximately two-thirds of Byers families resident in Britain. In that area many are farmers residing in Perthshire (1612), Roxburghshire (752), Stirling (425) and, further into the Borders at Berwick (480).