2000
#11,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,463
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Hemmer
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of hammers or a person living near a hammer mill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,632 Americans carry the last name Hemmer. That puts it at #12,813 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,226 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hemmer 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
2.6K
1 in 130,226
Census rank
#12,813
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,295 bearers of the surname Hemmer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12813th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hemmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hemmer
The surname HEMMER is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period. It is derived from the German word "hemmen," which means "to hinder" or "to restrain." This suggests that the name may have been given as an occupational surname to someone who worked as a gate-keeper or toll-collector, responsible for controlling the flow of traffic or goods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, from the 14th century. In 1385, a man named Hans Hemmer is listed as a citizen of the town, indicating that the name was already established by that time.
During the 16th century, the name appears in various records across Germany, including in the city of Cologne, where a family named Hemmer owned a prominent brewery. This brewery was later acquired by the Sion family in the 17th century, but the name Hemmer continued to be associated with the brewing industry in the region.
In the 18th century, a notable figure with the surname HEMMER was Johann Jakob Hemmer (1733-1790), a German astronomer and mathematician. He was a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin and made significant contributions to the study of comets and celestial mechanics.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Johann Jakob Hemmer (1772-1819), a Swiss painter and engraver. He was known for his landscapes and city views, particularly of Geneva and the surrounding areas.
In the 19th century, the name HEMMER gained recognition in the field of engineering. August Hemmer (1819-1901) was a German civil engineer who played a crucial role in the construction of the first railway line between Leipzig and Dresden in the mid-1800s.
Moving into the 20th century, Hans Hemmer (1900-1960) was a German actor and film director who worked in both Germany and the United States. He appeared in several notable films, including "The Razor's Edge" (1946) and "The High and the Mighty" (1954).
Throughout its history, the surname HEMMER has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Hemmerdorf, Hemmersbach, and Hemmingen, which may have influenced the development of the name or provided additional context for its origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hemmer
Among Census respondents with the surname Hemmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hemmer 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 Hemmer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 2,132
- Two or more races3.5% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hemmer
Hemmer 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
#12,215
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,549
+86 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 544 places
2020
#12,813
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,295
-254 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 598 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,671 | 2,463 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,215 | 2,549 | 0.86 | +86 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 544 places |
| 2020 | #12,813 | 2,295 | 0.77 | -254 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 598 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 Hemmer 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 | #12,215 | #12,813 | -4.9% |
| Count | 2,549 | 2,295 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.77 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hemmer bearers went from 2,549 to 2,295 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 598 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,215 to #12,813.
FAQ
Hemmer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hemmer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,632 living Americans carry the surname Hemmer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,226 residents.
How common is Hemmer?
Hemmer ranks #12,813 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,295 people with the surname Hemmer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,632), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Hemmer.
Has Hemmer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hemmer went from 2,549 recorded bearers to 2,295. That is a decrease of 254 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,215 to #12,813.
What does the Census say about the background of Hemmer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hemmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Hemmer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (2,132 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hemmer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Hemmer (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 Hemmer mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of hammers or a person living near a hammer mill. 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 Hemmer (0.77 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 Hemmer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.