Gilmer
Strong or resolute warrior, derived from Old English elements.
Name Census estimates that about 383 living Americans carry the first name Gilmer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gilmer today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gilmer births was 1918 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gilmer. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
383
~ 1 in 894,920 Americans
Peak year
1918
44 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,200
Tracked since 1907
Census
Gilmer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 888 people with the first name Gilmer, which placed it at #13,554 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,554
National first-name rank
People counted
888
888 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
62.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gilmer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gilmer is Hispanic at 62.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.5%) and Black (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gilmer 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gilmer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino62.6% · 556
- White32.5% · 289
- Black or African American2.4% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 12
- Two or more races0.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Gilmer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gilmer from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 291 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gilmer by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gilmer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gilmers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. North Carolina, Virginia, Texas recorded the most babies named Gilmer, while West Virginia, Texas, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gilmer
The name Gilmer has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 5th century. It is derived from the Old English words "gil," meaning "ravine" or "deep valley," and "mere," meaning "lake" or "pool." The name was commonly used in Anglo-Saxon England, particularly in regions with rugged landscapes and bodies of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gilmer can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, including Gylmere and Gylmor, indicating its widespread use during the Norman period.
In the 12th century, the name Gilmer gained prominence through its association with the Gilmerton family, a powerful noble clan in Scotland. Sir John de Gilmerton, born in 1170, was a renowned knight and landowner who played a significant role in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England. His descendants continued to bear the name for several generations.
During the Middle Ages, the name Gilmer was also found in religious texts and chronicles. The Venerable Bede, an 8th-century English monk and scholar, mentioned a monk named Gilmer in his famous work, "Ecclesiastical History of the English People." This reference suggests that the name was in use among the clergy at that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Gilmer. One such figure was Gilmer Tunstall (c. 1530-1616), an English politician and landowner who served as the High Sheriff of Norfolk. Another prominent bearer of the name was Gilmer Brenghausen (1609-1688), a Dutch merchant and shipping magnate who established a successful trading company in Amsterdam.
In the 18th century, Gilmer Petrie (1745-1819) was a Scottish philosopher and educator who made significant contributions to the field of moral philosophy. His teachings and writings influenced generations of scholars and intellectuals.
The 19th century saw the rise of Gilmer Pearce (1810-1892), an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Maryland. He was a prominent figure in the Democratic Party and played a pivotal role in shaping the nation's political landscape during his time in office.
One of the most recent historical figures with the name Gilmer was Gilmer B. Frost (1892-1967), an American military officer who served in both World Wars. He distinguished himself with his leadership and strategic abilities, earning numerous honors and decorations for his service.
People
Gilmer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gilmer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gilmer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gilmer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 383 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gilmer going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 894,920 US residents.
Is Gilmer a common name?
We classify Gilmer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,187 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gilmer most popular?
The single biggest year for Gilmer was 1918, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gilmer is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gilmer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 888 people with the name Gilmer, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,554 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gilmer in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gilmer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gilmer leans strongly male. 889 people counted with this name were male (98.7%), compared with 12 female bearers (1.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gilmer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gilmer is Hispanic at 62.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.5%) and Black (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gilmer most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Gilmer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (556 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gilmer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gilmer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gilmer in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gilmer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gilmer in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gilmer can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Gilmer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.