Kallmeyer last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Kallmeyer

A German surname derived from the medieval occupation of lime burner or lime kiln operator.

Kallmeyer, 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 Kallmeyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kallmeyer in America

Kallmeyer is the 49914th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kallmeyer surname appeared 420 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 Kallmeyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kallmeyer 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 49914 50055 -0.28%
Count 420 393 6.64%
Proportion per 100k 0.14 0.15 -6.90%

The history of the last name Kallmeyer

The surname KALLMEYER is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the mid-16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Franconia, located in present-day Bavaria, southern Germany. The name is derived from the occupation of 'Kalkmeister' or 'Kalkmeyer', which translates to 'lime burner' or 'lime worker'.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to 1550, in the town of Würzburg, Franconia. In a church registry, a certain Hans Kallmeyer was listed as a lime burner by trade. This suggests that the name was initially associated with the occupation of producing lime, a crucial ingredient in construction and agriculture during that era.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the KALLMEYER name appeared in various historical records across different regions of Germany, including Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saxony. This indicates that families bearing the name gradually spread across the country, likely due to migration and the pursuit of new opportunities.

One notable individual bearing the KALLMEYER surname was Johann Kallmeyer (1692-1777), a renowned clockmaker from the city of Nuremberg. His intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the nobility and affluent classes of the time, cementing his reputation as a master craftsman.

Another historical figure was Friedrich Kallmeyer (1768-1835), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Jena. His writings on ethics and moral philosophy garnered significant attention during the Enlightenment period.

In the late 19th century, the KALLMEYER name found its way to North America, as many German immigrants sought new opportunities in the United States and Canada. One such individual was Wilhelm Kallmeyer (1844-1920), a skilled cabinetmaker who settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and established a successful furniture-making business.

Another notable bearer of the KALLMEYER name was Gertrude Kallmeyer (1889-1976), a German-American artist renowned for her vibrant impressionist paintings. Her works, often depicting landscapes and still-life scenes, are held in high regard and can be found in numerous art galleries and private collections.

Lastly, one cannot overlook the literary contributions of Hans-Jürgen Kallmeyer (1928-2017), a German linguist and professor at the University of Mannheim. His groundbreaking research on sociolinguistics and discourse analysis helped shape the field of modern linguistics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kallmeyer

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

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 Kallmeyer was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.43% 405
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 2.86% 12

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 Kallmeyer has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.43% 96.69% -0.27%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 2.86% 2.80% 2.12%

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

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

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"Kallmeyer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 8, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kallmeyer-surname-popularity/.

"Kallmeyer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kallmeyer-surname-popularity/. Accessed 8 August, 2025

Kallmeyer last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kallmeyer-surname-popularity/.

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