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

Dahmer, 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 Dahmer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dahmer in America

Dahmer is the 27732nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dahmer surname appeared 867 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dahmer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dahmer 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 Dahmer

The surname Dahmer is of German origin, first appearing in records from the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old High German word "damer" or "tamer," which means "tamer of animals" or "one who trains animals." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone who worked with animals, such as a hunter or a falconer.

The earliest known written record of the Dahmer surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, Germany. In this text, a man named "Henricus Damer" is mentioned in a legal document dated 1187.

During the Middle Ages, the Dahmer name was primarily concentrated in the areas of Saxony and Thuringia, located in modern-day eastern Germany. The name also appeared in various forms, such as "Damer," "Dammert," and "Damert," reflecting regional linguistic variations.

One notable historical figure bearing the Dahmer surname was Johann Dahmer, a 16th-century Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony. He was born in 1520 and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation movement in Germany.

Another early recorded instance of the Dahmer name can be found in the town of Dahme, located in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. The town's name, which dates back to the 13th century, is believed to be related to the Slavic word "domy," meaning "houses" or "dwellings." It is possible that some individuals who lived in or near this town adopted the surname Dahmer.

In the 18th century, a prominent figure named Johann Friedrich Dahmer (1730-1803) was a German Baroque architect and civil engineer. He is best known for designing several significant buildings in Berlin, including the Berlin Cathedral and the Prussian State Library.

Another notable individual with the Dahmer surname was Carl Dahmer (1858-1937), a German politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Cologne from 1917 to 1933.

It is worth mentioning that the Dahmer surname has also been recorded in other parts of Europe, such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dahmer

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

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 Dahmer 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 Dahmer 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 Dahmer was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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