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

Nimmo, 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 Nimmo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nimmo in America

Nimmo is the 12033rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nimmo surname appeared 2,594 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 Nimmo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nimmo 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 Nimmo

The surname NIMMO is of Scottish origin, originating in the Scottish Borders region during the 12th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the lands of Nimo or Nimmo in the parish of Garvald, East Lothian. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "neowe" meaning "new" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "settlement", suggesting it referred to a new settlement or dwelling.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of instruments of homage to Edward I of England, where it appears as "Nimo" and "Nymo". The name also appears in various charters and records from the 14th and 15th centuries in spellings such as "Nymok", "Nymok", and "Nymowe".

In the 16th century, the NIMMO family held lands in the parishes of Garvald and Whittinghame in East Lothian. One notable member was John NIMMO (c. 1550-1623), a Scottish landowner and farmer who owned the lands of Nether Byres in Whittinghame.

The NIMMO name has been present in various parts of Scotland over the centuries. In the 17th century, Robert NIMMO (1628-1706) was a prominent merchant and burgess of Edinburgh, while in the 18th century, Alexander NIMMO (1783-1832) was a Scottish civil engineer who worked on several major projects in Ireland and Scotland.

Other notable individuals with the surname NIMMO include:

1. Henry NIMMO (1778-1839), a Scottish surveyor and cartographer who produced maps of various counties in Scotland.
2. Joseph NIMMO Jr. (1823-1886), an American soldier, surveyor, and civil engineer who worked on various railroad projects in the western United States.
3. William NIMMO (1834-1901), a Scottish photographer and pioneer of the calotype process, known for his landscape and architectural photographs of Scotland.
4. Basil NIMMO (1900-1986), a British journalist and author who wrote several books on travel and culture.
5. James NIMMO (1908-1994), a Scottish footballer who played for Motherwell and the Scottish national team in the 1930s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nimmo

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

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

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

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