Welmer
Potentially derived from Germanic roots meaning "renowned protector" or "famous guardian".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Welmer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Welmer today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Welmer births was 1922 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Welmer. 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 Welmer. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1922
5 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2002 SSA rank
#12,419
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Welmer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Welmer from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Welmer 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 Welmer 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 Welmer
The given name Welmer is an Old German name derived from the Germanic root words "well" and "mar," which together mean "famous and renowned." It originated in the 6th century AD among the Germanic tribes that inhabited the regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands.
Welmer was a relatively common name during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility and warrior classes of Germanic societies. The earliest known historical reference to the name can be found in the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem from around the 13th century, where a minor character bears the name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Welmer was Welmer von Bremerhaven, a German knight who lived in the late 12th century. He participated in the Third Crusade and was known for his bravery in battle.
In the 14th century, Welmer Braun was a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Cologne. He played a significant role in the city's trade and politics during his lifetime.
During the Renaissance period, Welmer Holzschuher was a notable German artist and woodcarver who lived in the late 15th century. His intricate wooden sculptures adorned many churches and cathedrals across Germany.
In the 17th century, Welmer von Hatzfeldt was a German nobleman and military commander who served in the Thirty Years' War. He was known for his strategic brilliance and leadership on the battlefield.
Another historical figure with the name Welmer was Welmer Müller, a German philosopher and scholar who lived in the 18th century. He wrote extensively on topics such as ethics, metaphysics, and the nature of human consciousness.
People
Welmer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Welmer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Welmer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Welmer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Welmer 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 Welmer a common name?
We classify Welmer 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, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Welmer most popular?
The single biggest year for Welmer was 1922, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Welmer is about 26 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 Welmer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Welmer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Welmer 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 Welmer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Welmer 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 Welmer 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 Welmer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.