Kalmer
Of Arabic origin, meaning "perfected" or "accomplished".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Kalmer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kalmer today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalmer births was 1915 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalmer. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kalmer. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1915
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1915 SSA rank
#4,111
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Kalmer: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kalmer 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 Kalmer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalmer
The name Kalmer has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically deriving from the Old Norse word "kalmr," which means "calm" or "peaceful." This name likely gained popularity during the Viking Age, between the 8th and 11th centuries, when the Norse culture and language had a significant influence across northern Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kalmer can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives written in the 13th century. These sagas often mentioned individuals with Norse names, reflecting the cultural and linguistic landscape of the time.
In the 11th century, a Norwegian chieftain named Kalmer Arneson is recorded as having participated in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, where he fought alongside King Olaf II against the forces of the Danish king, Cnut the Great. This historical event is described in the Heimskringla, a renowned saga written by the Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name Kalmer gained popularity across Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe influenced by Norse culture. One notable bearer of the name was Kalmer, a 12th-century Swedish archbishop who played a significant role in the Christianization of Finland.
In the 14th century, a Danish nobleman named Kalmer Henriksen served as the Admiral of the Danish fleet and fought in the wars against the Hanseatic League, a powerful maritime confederation of merchant guilds and towns.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Kalmer Kulle was a Swedish Lutheran priest and scholar who translated portions of the Bible into the Swedish language, contributing to the development of the Swedish literary tradition.
Throughout history, the name Kalmer has been associated with individuals from various backgrounds, including nobility, clergy, and military leaders, reflecting its enduring presence across different regions and eras influenced by Germanic culture and language.
People
Kalmer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalmer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kalmer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalmer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalmer 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 - US residents.
Is Kalmer a common name?
We classify Kalmer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalmer most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalmer was 1915, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalmer is about 0 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 Kalmer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalmer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalmer 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 Kalmer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalmer 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 Kalmer 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 many people have the name Kalmer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.