2000
#9,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,228
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.20
Rare Last name
Clymer
An English occupational surname referring to a climber or someone who lived near a hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,652 Americans carry the last name Clymer. That puts it at #9,724 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,854 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clymer surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Clymer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 93,854
Census rank
#9,724
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,185 bearers of the surname Clymer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9724th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clymer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clymer
The surname Clymer is of English origin, rooted in the Old English word "climor," which means "a bawler" or "a crier." It likely originated in the medieval period, when occupational surnames were commonly adopted to distinguish people with similar first names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Clymer can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, England, dated 1332, where a John Clymour was listed. This suggests that the name was already in use by the 14th century.
In the 15th century, the surname appears in various records with different spellings, such as Clymour, Clymmer, and Clymmer, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spelling during that era.
The Clymer surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Clymers Wood in Buckinghamshire and Clymer's Hill in Oxfordshire. These place names may have influenced the development of the surname or vice versa.
Notable individuals with the surname Clymer include:
1. George Clymer (1739-1813), an American politician and one of the Founding Fathers who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
2. Hiester Clymer (1827-1912), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War and later a prominent politician in Pennsylvania.
3. John Clymer (1907-1989), an American artist renowned for his illustrations of historical subjects and his work for National Geographic magazine.
4. Eleanor Clymer (1906-2001), an American author and children's book writer best known for her award-winning book "The Tiny Parents."
5. Benjamin Clymer (1825-1910), an American politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
The Clymer surname has deep roots in English history and can be traced back to the medieval period, reflecting the occupational origins of many surnames during that time. While the spelling has evolved over the centuries, the name has been borne by notable individuals across various fields, leaving a lasting legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clymer
Among Census respondents with the surname Clymer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Clymer bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Clymer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 2,859
- Two or more races3.7% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 111
- Black or African American1.6% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clymer
Clymer appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,329
+101 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 453 places
2020
#9,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,185
-144 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,283 | 3,228 | 1.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,736 | 3,329 | 1.13 | +101 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 453 places |
| 2020 | #9,724 | 3,185 | 1.07 | -144 bearers (-4.3%) | Up 12 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Clymer surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,736 | #9,724 | 0.1% |
| Count | 3,329 | 3,185 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.07 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clymer bearers went from 3,329 to 3,185 (-4.3% change). The surname moved up 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,736 to #9,724.
FAQ
Clymer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clymer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,652 living Americans carry the surname Clymer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,854 residents.
How common is Clymer?
Clymer ranks #9,724 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,185 people with the surname Clymer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,652), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Clymer.
Has Clymer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clymer went from 3,329 recorded bearers to 3,185. That is a decrease of 144 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,736 to #9,724.
What does the Census say about the background of Clymer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clymer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Clymer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (2,859 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clymer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (3.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Clymer (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Clymer mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a climber or someone who lived near a hill or mountain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Clymer (1.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Clymer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.