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

Tessmer, 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 Tessmer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tessmer in America

Tessmer is the 18819th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tessmer surname appeared 1,455 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 Tessmer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tessmer 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 Tessmer

The surname Tessmer is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony-Anhalt, a state in central Germany. Tessmer is thought to be derived from the Old German words "ter" meaning tar and "smer" meaning greaser or tar maker, indicating that the name's earliest bearers were likely involved in the production or trade of tar.

The name Tessmer first appeared in historical records during the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Brehna town records of 1287, where a Hans Tessmer is listed as a resident. Another early reference is in the Eisleben parish registers from 1392, which document a Gregor Tessmer.

In the 16th century, the name Tessmer began to appear in various other parts of Germany, with records showing individuals with this surname in regions such as Brandenburg and Saxony. During this time, the name was sometimes spelled with variations like Tessmar or Tessmehr.

Notable individuals with the surname Tessmer throughout history include Johann Tessmer (1550-1621), a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Leipzig, and Hans Tessmer (1602-1678), a respected theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg.

Other historical figures bearing the name Tessmer include Friedrich Tessmer (1712-1786), a German composer and organist who served at the court of Prince-Bishop Philipp Gotthard von Galen in Münster, and Johanna Tessmer (1825-1901), a renowned German painter known for her landscape and genre works.

In the late 19th century, a branch of the Tessmer family emigrated to the United States, with records indicating that a Wilhelm Tessmer and his wife, Anna, settled in Wisconsin in 1885. Their son, August Tessmer (1870-1942), became a prominent businessman and community leader in the city of Milwaukee.

While the surname Tessmer is not among the most common in Germany today, it has a rich historical legacy spanning several centuries and can be traced back to its origins in the medieval tar-making trade in central Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tessmer

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

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

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

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