2000
#112,365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 145
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Hermsmeyer
A German surname derived from a place name associated with hermits or hermitages.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 140 Americans carry the last name Hermsmeyer. That puts it at #140,525 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,448,245 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hermsmeyer 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
140
1 in 2,448,245
Census rank
#140,525
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
122
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 122 bearers of the surname Hermsmeyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 140525th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hermsmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hermsmeyer
The surname Hermsmeyer has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the northern regions of the country, particularly in areas such as Lower Saxony and Westphalia. The name is derived from the Old German words "heri" meaning army and "meijer" meaning farmstead or estate, suggesting that the original bearers of this surname were either soldiers or landowners associated with agricultural estates or feudal manor houses.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hermsmeyer can be found in the church records of the town of Minden, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where a certain Johannes Hermsmeyer is mentioned in an entry from 1587. Another notable early reference is in the town chronicles of Osnabrück, where a family bearing the name Hermsmeyer is documented as residing in the area since the late 16th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Hermsmeyer name appeared in various historical records across northern Germany, with some individuals of note including Hans Hermsmeyer (1625-1697), a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Lemgo, and Margaretha Hermsmeyer (1693-1765), a renowned midwife and herbalist who practiced in the city of Hanover.
As the centuries progressed, members of the Hermsmeyer family began to migrate and settle in other parts of Europe and beyond. One notable figure was Johann Friedrich Hermsmeyer (1786-1857), a German-American farmer and entrepreneur who established a successful agricultural business in Pennsylvania after immigrating to the United States in the early 19th century.
Another significant bearer of the Hermsmeyer name was Wilhelm Hermsmeyer (1842-1921), a German-born Australian businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the wool trade and became a prominent figure in the city of Melbourne, where he supported various charitable causes and cultural institutions.
In the 20th century, the Hermsmeyer surname continued to be found across different parts of the world, with individuals such as Robert Hermsmeyer (1912-1995), an American engineer and inventor who held several patents for industrial machinery, and Helga Hermsmeyer (born 1935), a German-born Australian artist known for her abstract expressionist paintings and sculptures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hermsmeyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Hermsmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hermsmeyer 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 Hermsmeyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 121
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hermsmeyer
Hermsmeyer 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
#116,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149
+4 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 4,464 places
2020
#140,525
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
-27 bearers (-18.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 23,696 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #112,365 | 145 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #116,829 | 149 | 0.05 | +4 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 4,464 places |
| 2020 | #140,525 | 122 | 0.04 | -27 bearers (-18.1%) | Down 23,696 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 Hermsmeyer 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 | #116,829 | #140,525 | -20.3% |
| Count | 149 | 122 | -18.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -18.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hermsmeyer bearers went from 149 to 122 (-18.1% change). The surname moved down 23,696 positions in the national ranking, going from #116,829 to #140,525.
FAQ
Hermsmeyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hermsmeyer?
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the surname Hermsmeyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,448,245 residents.
How common is Hermsmeyer?
Hermsmeyer ranks #140,525 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 122 people with the surname Hermsmeyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (140), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Hermsmeyer.
Has Hermsmeyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hermsmeyer went from 149 recorded bearers to 122. That is a decrease of 27 (-18.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #116,829 to #140,525.
What does the Census say about the background of Hermsmeyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hermsmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Hermsmeyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (121 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hermsmeyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Hermsmeyer (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 Hermsmeyer mean?
A German surname derived from a place name associated with hermits or hermitages. 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 Hermsmeyer (0.04 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 common is the surname Hermsmeyer?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hermsmeyer, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.