Chalmer
An Old English masculine name meaning "quarryman" or "builder".
Name Census estimates that about 297 living Americans carry the first name Chalmer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Chalmer today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chalmer births was 1918 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chalmer. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Chalmer is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Chalmers were born before 1962.
People living today
297
~ 1 in 1,154,055 Americans
Peak year
1918
56 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
2000 SSA rank
#9,270
Tracked since 1881
Census
Chalmer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 393 people with the first name Chalmer, which placed it at #24,486 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,486
National first-name rank
People counted
393
393 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chalmer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chalmer is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chalmer described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chalmer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 325
- Black or African American8.7% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 10
- Two or more races2.5% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 7
Popularity
Chalmer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chalmer from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 391 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chalmer by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chalmer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chalmers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Chalmer, while Illinois, West Virginia, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 61 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chalmer
The name Chalmer is believed to have originated from the Old French word "chalmere," which means a small room or chamber. This word was derived from the Latin word "camera," meaning a vaulted or arched room. The name was likely used to refer to a person who lived or worked in a small room or chamber.
The earliest recorded use of the name Chalmer dates back to the 12th century in England and Scotland. It was initially used as a surname or a descriptive name to identify a person's occupation or place of residence.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Chalmer was Chalmer de Wyntoun, a Scottish poet and chronicler born around 1350. He is best known for his work, "The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland," which is considered one of the earliest historical works written in the Scots language.
In the 15th century, Chalmer Kynnynmonth was a Scottish clergyman and statesman who served as the Lord Privy Seal of Scotland under King James III. He played a significant role in the political affairs of the time and was involved in negotiations with England.
During the 16th century, Chalmer Quhithill was a Scottish judge and legal scholar. He served as a Lord of Session in the College of Justice and was known for his expertise in Scottish law.
In the 17th century, Chalmer Doun was an English mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and is remembered for his work on the motion of the moon.
Another notable figure with the name Chalmer was Chalmer Bunting, an English composer and organist who lived in the 18th century. He composed several works for the church and was known for his skill in organ performance.
While the name Chalmer has its roots in the Old French language, it has been used across various cultures and regions over the centuries. The name's association with small rooms or chambers has given it a unique significance and historical context.
People
Chalmer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chalmer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chalmer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chalmer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 297 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chalmer going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,154,055 US residents.
Is Chalmer a common name?
We classify Chalmer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,427 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chalmer most popular?
The single biggest year for Chalmer was 1918, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chalmer is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chalmer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 393 people with the name Chalmer, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,486 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chalmer in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chalmer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chalmer leans strongly male. 383 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 8 female bearers (2.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chalmer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chalmer is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chalmer most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chalmer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (325 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chalmer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chalmer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chalmer in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chalmer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chalmer in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chalmer can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Chalmer?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.