2000
#11,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,565
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Nimmo
A Scottish locational surname derived from the lands of Nemoch or Nemmock in Lanarkshire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,832 Americans carry the last name Nimmo. That puts it at #12,058 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,029 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nimmo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Nimmo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 121,029
Census rank
#12,058
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,470 bearers of the surname Nimmo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12058th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nimmo, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nimmo
Among Census respondents with the surname Nimmo, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Nimmo 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 Nimmo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 2,156
- Two or more races4.6% · 114
- Black or African American3.7% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nimmo
Nimmo 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
#12,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,594
+29 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 731 places
2020
#12,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,470
-124 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,302 | 2,565 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,033 | 2,594 | 0.88 | +29 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 731 places |
| 2020 | #12,058 | 2,470 | 0.83 | -124 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 25 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 Nimmo 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 | #12,033 | #12,058 | -0.2% |
| Count | 2,594 | 2,470 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.83 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nimmo bearers went from 2,594 to 2,470 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,033 to #12,058.
FAQ
Nimmo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nimmo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,832 living Americans carry the surname Nimmo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,029 residents.
How common is Nimmo?
Nimmo ranks #12,058 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,470 people with the surname Nimmo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,832), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Nimmo.
Has Nimmo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nimmo went from 2,594 recorded bearers to 2,470. That is a decrease of 124 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,033 to #12,058.
What does the Census say about the background of Nimmo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nimmo, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Nimmo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (2,156 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nimmo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Black (3.7%). 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 Nimmo (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 Nimmo mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from the lands of Nemoch or Nemmock in Lanarkshire. 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 Nimmo (0.83 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 many people share the surname Nimmo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.