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

Hammer, 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 Hammer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hammer in America

Hammer is the 1661st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hammer surname appeared 21,709 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Hammer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hammer 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 Hammer

The surname Hammer is of German origin, derived from the German word "Hammer" which means "hammer" or "sledgehammer". It is an occupational name that originally referred to a blacksmith or metalworker who worked with a hammer.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. In some areas, the name was also spelled as "Hamer" or "Hamar".

One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a 13th-century cartulary from the German region of Westphalia, where a person named "Conradus Hamer" is mentioned.

During the Middle Ages, the Hammer surname was particularly prevalent in the town of Hammerstein, located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. This town likely derived its name from the presence of local blacksmiths or hammer-workers.

In the 14th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johannes Hammer, a German theologian and philosopher from Bavaria who lived from around 1350 to 1420.

Another early prominent individual with the surname was Johannes Hammer, a German printer and publisher who lived from around 1410 to 1470 and was active in the city of Leipzig.

In the 16th century, Kaspar Hammer, a German mathematician and astronomer from Saxony, gained recognition for his contributions to the field of astronomy. He lived from around 1500 to 1562.

During the 17th century, the Hammer surname was also found in some regions of Switzerland, where it was often spelled as "Hämmer" or "Hämmerli".

In the 18th century, Johann Hammer, a German botanist and naturalist from Saxony, made significant contributions to the study of plants and natural history. He lived from 1714 to 1794.

As the surname spread across German-speaking regions, it eventually made its way to other parts of Europe and later to the Americas, where it was adopted by immigrants and their descendants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hammer

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!