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

Zimmermann, 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 Zimmermann surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zimmermann in America

Zimmermann is the 4942nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zimmermann surname appeared 7,123 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 Zimmermann.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zimmermann 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 Zimmermann

The surname Zimmermann is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "zimmer," meaning "room" or "chamber," and "mann," meaning "man." The name was originally an occupational surname given to carpenters or woodworkers who specialized in building the timber frames of houses and other structures. The earliest recorded examples of the name date back to the 13th century in Germany.

The name Zimmermann is most commonly found in the southern and central regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Hesse. It is also prevalent in German-speaking countries such as Austria and Switzerland. The name has several variations in spelling, including Zimmerman, Zimmer, and Timmermann.

One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Johann Georg Zimmermann (1728-1795), a Swiss philosopher, naturalist, and physician who served as the court physician to King George III of England. He is best known for his work on solitude and its effects on the human mind.

Another prominent figure with the surname Zimmermann was Arthur Zimmermann (1864-1940), a German politician and diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire during World War I. He is most famous for the Zimmermann Telegram, a secret diplomatic communication sent to Mexico, proposing an alliance against the United States.

In the world of music, Agnes Zimmermann (1847-1925) was a German-born British pianist and composer who was one of the first women to achieve recognition as a professional musician in England. She was a prolific composer, writing numerous works for piano, chamber ensembles, and orchestra.

The name Zimmermann has also been borne by several notable athletes, including German footballer Hans Zimmermann (1906-1984), who played for the German national team in the 1930s, and German-American baseball player Roy Zimmerman (1916-1991), who played for the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds in the 1940s.

In literature, the surname Zimmermann is associated with the protagonist of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's novel "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" (The Sorrows of Young Werther), first published in 1774. The novel, which is considered a masterpiece of German literature, tells the story of a young artist named Werther who falls in love with a woman named Lotte, who is engaged to another man named Albert Zimmermann.

The surname Zimmermann has also been adopted by many Jewish families, particularly those from the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition. In some cases, the name may have been adopted as a reference to the German word "zimmer," meaning "room," which could be interpreted as a metaphor for the Jewish people's confinement in ghettos during the Middle Ages.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zimmermann

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

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

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

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