2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Glimp
A surname likely derived from a spelling variant of a German occupational name for a miner or quarryman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Glimp. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Glimp 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.
Bearers in the US
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Glimp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Glimp, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Glimp
The surname GLIMP is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old High German word "glimpfen," which means "to glance or glimpse." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who had a keen eye or a watchful demeanor.
In the 13th century, the name GLIMP appeared in various Germanic regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony. It was often spelled as "Glympf" or "Glympfe" in ancient records and manuscripts from that era. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from Brandenburg, Germany, dating back to 1261.
During the 14th century, the GLIMP surname began to spread across other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. In the Dutch province of Friesland, the name was recorded as "Glimpe" in the Fries Archief, a compilation of archival records from the region, dated around 1375.
One notable figure bearing the GLIMP surname was Hans Glimp, a German clockmaker who lived in the 16th century. He is credited with creating some of the earliest mechanical clocks in the city of Nuremberg, Germany, where he resided and worked.
In the 17th century, a branch of the GLIMP family settled in England, where the name was sometimes anglicized to "Glimps" or "Glimpse." John Glimps, born in 1632 in Oxfordshire, was a prominent landowner and local magistrate during his time.
The 18th century saw the emergence of Johann Friedrich Glimp, a German scholar and theologian born in 1712 in Saxony. He authored several works on theology and philosophy, and served as a professor at the University of Leipzig until his death in 1785.
Another notable GLIMP was Maria Glimp, a Dutch painter who lived in the 19th century. Born in 1825 in Amsterdam, she was renowned for her landscape and still life paintings, many of which are now housed in various museums across the Netherlands.
In the early 20th century, Gustav Glimp, a German engineer and inventor born in 1880 in Berlin, made significant contributions to the development of early automobiles. He held several patents related to vehicle suspension systems and engine technologies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glimp
Among Census respondents with the surname Glimp, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Glimp 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 Glimp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.0% · 78
- Black or African American15.4% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 5
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Glimp
Glimp 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-10 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,732 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 179 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 19,732 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 179 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 Glimp 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 | #153,769 | #153,590 | 0.1% |
| Count | 106 | 104 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Glimp bearers went from 106 to 104 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 179 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #153,590.
FAQ
Glimp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Glimp?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Glimp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Glimp?
Glimp ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Glimp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Glimp.
Has Glimp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Glimp went from 106 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Glimp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Glimp, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Glimp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (78 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Glimp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.0%), Black (15.4%), Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Glimp (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 Glimp mean?
A surname likely derived from a spelling variant of a German occupational name for a miner or quarryman. 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 Glimp (0.03 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 people have the last name Glimp?
If you just want to know how common the surname Glimp is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.