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

Hamre, 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 Hamre surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hamre in America

Hamre is the 22592nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hamre surname appeared 1,137 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 Hamre.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hamre 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 Hamre

The surname HAMRE is of Norwegian origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is thought to have originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a valley or a steep slope. The Old Norse word "hamarr" means a steep hill or a rocky ridge, and the word "hamre" is believed to be a derivative of this term.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the HAMRE surname can be found in the Norwegian Diplomatic Codex, a collection of medieval documents from the 13th century. In this codex, there is a reference to a person named "Thorstein de Hamre" who was involved in a land dispute in the year 1286.

During the Middle Ages, the HAMRE surname was particularly prevalent in the western regions of Norway, such as the counties of Rogaland and Hordaland. It is likely that the name was originally associated with specific farms or settlements located in these areas, where the landscape featured steep hills or rocky ridges.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the HAMRE surname was Nils Hamre (c. 1530-1598), a Norwegian farmer and landowner who was involved in a long-running legal dispute over the ownership of a farm in the village of Samnanger. This case was eventually brought before the Danish-Norwegian Council of State and became a significant legal precedent in Norway.

Another prominent individual with the HAMRE name was Hans Hamre (1871-1945), a Norwegian politician who served as a member of the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) from 1904 to 1912. He was also a noted advocate for workers' rights and played a key role in the establishment of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.

In the 20th century, one of the most famous people with the HAMRE surname was Einar Hamre (1894-1980), a Norwegian artist and painter who is renowned for his landscape paintings depicting the rugged beauty of the Norwegian countryside. His works are held in numerous art galleries and museums throughout Norway and beyond.

While the HAMRE surname is most commonly associated with Norway, it has also been found in other Scandinavian countries, as well as in regions with significant Norwegian immigration, such as parts of the United States and Canada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hamre

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

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

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

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