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

Rimer, 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 Rimer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rimer in America

Rimer is the 16734th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rimer surname appeared 1,709 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 Rimer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rimer 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 Rimer

The surname Rimer is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the late 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old Germanic word "rīm," which means "counting" or "tally." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as an accountant or bookkeeper.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rimer can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the city of Cologne, which mentions a man named Johannes Rimer. Another early reference is in a 1426 document from the town of Heidelberg, which lists a certain Heinrich Rimer as a local landowner.

By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring regions such as Switzerland and Austria. In 1549, a man named Hans Rimer is recorded as having been a prominent merchant in the city of Augsburg.

The Rimer surname also appears to have been adopted by some families of Jewish descent, possibly due to the influence of Yiddish, which has roots in Germanic languages. One notable example is the 18th-century German rabbi and scholar Jacob Rimer, who was born in 1722 and died in 1795.

As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas, they brought the Rimer name with them. In the 19th century, a family of Rimers can be found living in the town of Dunfermline, Scotland, where they were engaged in the weaving trade.

Other notable individuals with the surname Rimer include the 19th-century German painter Carl Rimer (1818-1891), and the 20th-century American architect and engineer Paul Rimer (1906-1985), who was known for his work on several notable bridges and skyscrapers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rimer

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

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

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

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