Find out how popular the last name Balmer is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Balmer.

Balmer, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Balmer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Balmer in America

Balmer is the 10059th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Balmer surname appeared 3,204 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Balmer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Balmer to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Balmer

The surname Balmer is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in the county of Wiltshire, located in the south-west of England. The name is derived from the Old English words 'beal' meaning 'rounded hill' and 'mere' meaning 'lake or pool', suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name lived near a distinctive rounded hill near a body of water.

The Balmer name is found in several early records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Walter de Balmere in the county of Wiltshire. This provides evidence that the name was already established in the region by the 11th century.

One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Balmer was Sir John Balmer, a prominent military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France in the 14th century. He was knighted for his bravery on the battlefield and is mentioned in several historical chronicles from that period.

In the 16th century, the Balmer family held lands in the village of Mere, located in Wiltshire. This village likely played a role in the origin of the surname, as it shares the same root as the 'mere' component of the name.

Another notable figure was Robert Balmer, a successful merchant and philanthropist who lived in London during the 17th century. He was a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers and used his wealth to support various charitable causes, including the founding of a school for underprivileged children.

In the 18th century, the Reverend James Balmer was a respected Church of England clergyman who served as the Rector of Mere in Wiltshire. He is known for his published sermons and writings on religious subjects.

Moving into the 19th century, Johann Jakob Balmer, a Swiss mathematician and physicist, made significant contributions to the field of spectroscopy. He is best known for discovering the Balmer series, an important mathematical formula that describes the visible spectrum of hydrogen.

Throughout history, the Balmer surname has been found in various spellings, including Balmere, Balmor, and Balmore, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of different time periods.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Balmer

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Balmer.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Balmer was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Balmer has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Balmer was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Balmer, please contact us.

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