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

Mortimer, 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 Mortimer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mortimer in America

Mortimer is the 6195th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mortimer surname appeared 5,521 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Mortimer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mortimer 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 Mortimer

The surname Mortimer originated in England and France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "mort," meaning "dead," and "mer," meaning "sea" or "lake." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a stagnant, or "dead," body of water.

The earliest recorded instance of the Mortimer name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled "Mortemere." This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

One of the most famous early bearers of the Mortimer name was Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287-1330), a powerful English nobleman who played a significant role in the conflict between King Edward II and his queen, Isabella of France. Mortimer eventually seized power and governed England as the de facto ruler until his execution in 1330.

Another notable Mortimer was Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March (1391-1425), who was a claimant to the English throne during the latter stages of the Hundred Years' War. He was captured by the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndŵr and held captive for several years before being ransomed.

In the literary realm, John Mortimer (1923-2009) was a renowned English novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for creating the character of the curmudgeonly barrister Horace Rumpole in the "Rumpole of the Bailey" stories.

The Mortimer name has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire, where a decisive battle took place during the Wars of the Roses in 1461, and Mortimer's Hole, a natural underground cave system in Shropshire.

Other notable individuals with the Mortimer surname include Emily Mortimer (born 1971), an English actress known for films like "Shutter Island" and "Mary Poppins Returns," and Roger Mortimer (1909-1991), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire and captained the English national team.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mortimer

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

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

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

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