How common is the surname Palmer?

156,601 people in the United States had the surname Palmer in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,972 Americans. It ranked 172nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Palmer?

Keke Palmer, American actress, followed by Arnold Palmer.

Where is the surname Palmer most common?

Wikidata records people named Palmer in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Palmer?

Palmer is /ˈpɑmɚ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Palmer getting more or less common?

More common. 150,407 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 156,601 in 2010, up 4.1%.

Is Palmer also a first name?

Yes. Palmer is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Palmer

A French nickname surname, carried by 156,601 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈpɑmɚ/ 2 syllables Soundex P456 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Palmer is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

French origin

From Middle English palmer (“a pilgrim from the Holy Land”), from Old French.

Palmer is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 156,601 people named Palmer in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,972 Americans. That is up 4.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 150,407.

#172

rank among US surnames

156,601

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.1%

change since 2000 (was #158)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#163	Silva	161,633	1,910
#164	Shaw	160,400	1,925
#165	Snyder	160,262	1,927
#166	Mason	160,213	1,927
#167	Dixon	159,480	1,936
#168	Munoz	158,483	1,948
#169	Hunt	158,421	1,949

Who is named Palmer

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

75% of people named Palmer identified as white (not Hispanic), 19% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 75%
Black (not Hispanic) 19%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.9%
Two or more races 2.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Palmers

49 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Keke Palmer
American actress, born 1993
Arnold Palmer
American golfer (1929–2016)
Teresa Palmer
Australian actress, model, writer and producer (born 1986)
Amanda Palmer
American musician (born 1976)
Betsy Palmer
American actress (1926–2015)
Nathaniel Palmer
American explorer (1799–1877)
Keegan Palmer
American-Australian goofy-footed professional skateboarder, born 2003
Kylie Palmer
Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1990
Earl Palmer
American drummer (1924–2008)
Clive Palmer
Australian businessman and politician (born 1954)
Gregg Palmer
American actor (1927-2015)
Jim Palmer
American baseball player (born 1945)

Notable Palmers come mostly from the United States (36), Australia (10) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Palmer

Palmer has the Soundex code P456, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P456.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Palmer come from?: From Middle English palmer (“a pilgrim from the Holy Land”), from Old French.
How common is the surname Palmer?: 156,601 people in the United States had the surname Palmer in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,972 Americans. It ranked 172nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Palmer?: In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Palmer identified as white (not Hispanic), and 19% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Palmer?: Keke Palmer, American actress, followed by Arnold Palmer.
Where is the surname Palmer most common?: Wikidata records people named Palmer in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Palmer?: Palmer is /ˈpɑmɚ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Palmer?: Palmer is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Palmer getting more or less common?: More common. 150,407 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 156,601 in 2010, up 4.1%.
Is Palmer also a first name?: Yes. Palmer is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.