Hjalmer
Old Norse masculine name meaning "vigorous warrior" or "helmet protector".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Hjalmer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hjalmer today is around 103 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hjalmer births was 1917 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hjalmer. 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 Hjalmer is about 103 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hjalmers were born before 1933.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hjalmer. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1917
14 babies that year
Average age
103
years old
1932 SSA rank
#4,009
Tracked since 1884
Popularity
Hjalmer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hjalmer from the 1880s through to the 1930s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hjalmer 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 Hjalmer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hjalmers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Hjalmer, while Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hjalmer
The given name Hjalmer has its origins in Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings and Norse people of Scandinavia from around the 8th to the 13th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse elements "hjalm" meaning "helmet" and "arr" meaning "warrior" or "army". Together, Hjalmer can be interpreted to mean "helmeted warrior" or "army helmet".
The name was common among the Viking settlers of Scandinavia and is found in various ancient Norse texts and sagas. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the 13th-century Icelandic Saga of Hjalmer, which tells the story of a Viking warrior known as Hjalmer the Brave.
In the early medieval period, the name spread beyond Scandinavia as the Vikings explored and settled in other parts of Europe. Notable historical figures named Hjalmer include Hjalmer of Birka, a 10th-century Swedish chieftain and one of the first known rulers of the city of Birka.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name saw a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Sweden and Denmark. One famous bearer of the name was Hjalmer Ankarcrona (1594-1660), a Swedish nobleman and military officer who served as a field marshal during the Thirty Years' War.
In the 19th century, the name Hjalmer gained further recognition through the works of Swedish novelist Viktor Rydberg, who featured a character named Hjalmer in his epic poem "The Consecration of the House". This helped to solidify the name's popularity in Scandinavia.
Other notable individuals named Hjalmer include Hjalmer Branting (1860-1925), a Swedish politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1920 to 1925, and Hjalmer Söderberg (1869-1941), a renowned Swedish novelist and playwright.
People
Hjalmer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hjalmer 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
Hjalmer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hjalmer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hjalmer 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 Hjalmer a common name?
We classify Hjalmer 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, 202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hjalmer most popular?
The single biggest year for Hjalmer was 1917, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hjalmer is about 103 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Hjalmer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hjalmer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hjalmer 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 Hjalmer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hjalmer 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 Hjalmer 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Hjalmer?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Hjalmer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.