Hjalmar
A masculine Scandinavian name derived from Old Norse, meaning "helmet warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Hjalmar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hjalmar today is around 92 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hjalmar births was 1916 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hjalmar. 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 Hjalmar is about 92 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hjalmars were born before 1944.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hjalmar. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1916
13 babies that year
Average age
92
years old
1937 SSA rank
#3,765
Tracked since 1889
Census
Hjalmar in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Hjalmar, which placed it at #44,091 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
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hjalmar
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hjalmar is White at 51.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (44.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Hjalmar 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 Hjalmar at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.9% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino44.9% · 71
- Two or more races1.9% · 3
- Black or African American1.3% · 2
Popularity
Hjalmar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hjalmar from the 1880s through to the 1930s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 45 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Hjalmar remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hjalmar 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 Hjalmar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hjalmar
The name Hjalmar has its origins in Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings and Scandinavian people during the 8th to 13th centuries. It is a compound name derived from the Old Norse elements "hildr" meaning battle and "mar" meaning famous or renowned. Thus, Hjalmar can be interpreted to mean "famous in battle" or "renowned warrior".
This name was particularly popular among the Vikings, as it reflected their warrior culture and values of bravery and honor in combat. It was likely borne by many Norse warriors and chieftains during the Viking Age, though specific historical records are scarce.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Hjalmar was Hjalmar Hårderåde, a semi-legendary Norwegian king who is said to have ruled in the late 10th century. He is mentioned in the Heimskringla, a collection of sagas written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Hjalmar Brantingsson (1858-1925), a Swedish politician and leader of the Social Democratic Party. He served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1920 to 1925 and was instrumental in the development of the Swedish welfare state.
In the field of literature, Hjalmar Söderberg (1869-1941) was a prominent Swedish novelist and playwright, best known for his works such as "The Serious Game" and "Doctor Glas". His novels explored themes of love, morality, and the human condition.
In the world of sports, Hjalmar Andersen (1923-2013) was a Norwegian speed skater who won three gold medals at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. He remains one of Norway's most successful Olympians and is considered a national hero.
Lastly, Hjalmar Schacht (1877-1970) was a German economist and politician who served as the President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics under Adolf Hitler's regime. While controversial, he played a significant role in the German economic recovery during the 1930s.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Hjalmar, reflecting its enduring popularity and historical significance, particularly in Scandinavian and Nordic cultures.
People
Hjalmar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hjalmar as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hjalmar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hjalmar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hjalmar 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Hjalmar a common name?
We classify Hjalmar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hjalmar most popular?
The single biggest year for Hjalmar was 1916, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hjalmar is about 92 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hjalmar in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Hjalmar, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 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 Hjalmar 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 Hjalmar?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hjalmar leans strongly male. 154 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 3 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Hjalmar?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hjalmar is White at 51.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (44.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Hjalmar most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hjalmar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.9% (82 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 Hjalmar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hjalmar a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hjalmar 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 Hjalmar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hjalmar 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 Hjalmar 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 Americans are named Hjalmar?
Want to know how many Americans are named Hjalmar? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.