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

Hummer, 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 Hummer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hummer in America

Hummer is the 10064th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hummer surname appeared 3,203 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hummer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hummer 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 Hummer

The surname Hummer is of Germanic origin and can be traced back to the 12th century in the regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "hummer," which referred to a type of freshwater crayfish or lobster-like creature.

In the Middle Ages, surnames were often adopted based on occupations, physical characteristics, or locations. It is possible that the name Hummer was initially given as a nickname to someone who caught or traded in these crustaceans, or perhaps to someone who had a resemblance to them.

One of the earliest known records of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of documents from the Principality of Anhalt, dated around 1200. The entry mentions a person named "Hummere" in relation to a land transaction.

By the 14th century, the name had spread across various regions of Germany and the Low Countries, appearing in various spellings such as Hummer, Hummere, and Hummerding. In the city of Bremen, there is a record of a merchant named Hans Hummer who was a member of the guild of seafarers in the late 1400s.

Notable individuals bearing the Hummer surname include:

1. Christoph Hummer (1501-1572), a German theologian and reformer who was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation.
2. Johann Hummer (1647-1714), a German composer and organist active in the Baroque period.
3. Philipp Ferdinand Hummer (1763-1834), an Austrian painter and engraver known for his landscapes and architectural works.
4. Theodor Hummer (1810-1886), a German-born American architect who designed numerous buildings in St. Louis, Missouri.
5. Wilhelm Hummer (1865-1949), a German geologist and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossil plants and invertebrates.

Additionally, there are several place names in Germany that may have derived from or influenced the surname Hummer, such as Hummerfeld, Hummersdorf, and Hummerstein, though their exact connections to the name are unclear.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hummer

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

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

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

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