The Thayer family is an American Boston Brahmin family. They are descended from early settlers and brothers Thomas Thayer (1596–1665) and Richard Thayer (1601–1664).^[1]

• Atherton Thayer (1766–1798), Sheriff
• Ebenezer Thayer (1746–1809), Sheriff
• Thomas Thayer (1596–1665), Pilgrim.^[1]
• Richard Thayer (1601–1664), Pilgrim.^[1]
• Simeon Thayer (1737–1800), American Revolutionary War officer
• Sylvanus Thayer (1785–1872), United States Army general, Father of West Point
• Nathaniel Thayer, Jr. (1808–1883), financier, philanthropist, and one of the most generous citizens of Boston
  • Nathaniel Thayer, III (1851–1911), capitalist and pioneer railroad promoter
  • Bayard Thayer (1862–1916), millionaire sportsman, horticulturist
  • John Eliot Thayer (April 3, 1862 – July 29, 1933) ornithologist
• Eugene Van Rensselaer Thayer (1855–1907), financier and capitalist
  • Eugene Van Rensselaer Thayer, Jr. (1881–1937), banker and businessman
• Adin Thayer (1816–1890), New York politician
• Alexander Wheelock Thayer (1817–1897), American librarian, journalist, and biographer
• Andrew J. Thayer (1818–1873), United States Representative from Oregon
• William Wallace Thayer (1827–1899), Governor of Oregon and brother of Andrew J. Thayer
• James Bradley Thayer (1831–1902), American legal writer and educationist
• Amos Madden Thayer (1841–1905), United States federal judge
• Francis S. Thayer (1822–1880), New York politician
• William Roscoe Thayer (1859–1923), American historian
• Harry Irving Thayer (1869–1926), United States Representative from Massachusetts

• Ernest Thayer (1863–1940), American poet, author of "Casey at the Bat", and uncle of Scofield Thayer
• Scofield Thayer (1889–1982), American poet and publisher
• Eli Thayer (1819–1899), United States Representative from Massachusetts
  • John A. Thayer (1857–1917), United States Representative from Massachusetts
• John Milton Thayer (1820–1906), Governor of Nebraska, Governor of Wyoming, United States Senator, and Civil War general
• Samuel R. Thayer (1837–1909), United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
• John R. Thayer (1845–1916), United States Representative from Massachusetts
• Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter, amateur naturalist, and teacher
• Webster Thayer (1857–1933), the judge at the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
• William Greenough Thayer (1863–1934), American educator
• Sigourney Thayer (1896–1944), poet, theatrical producer, and aviator
• Robert H. Thayer (1901–1984), American lawyer, naval officer, and diplomat
• Edwin Pope Thayer (1864–1943), Secretary of the United States Senate from 1925 to 1933
• Martin Russell Thayer (1819–1906), United States Representative, great uncle of John Borland Thayer
• John Borland Thayer (1862–1912), American businessman who died on the RMS Titanic
  • Jack Thayer (1894–1945), his son, survivor of the Titanic sinking
• James B. Thayer (1922–2018), United States Brigadier General
  • Tommy Thayer (born 1960), lead guitarist for the rock band Kiss
• Tom Thayer (born 1961), retired American football player for the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins