Palmer
Masculine · Latin roots · “pilgrim”
Palmer is given to both — 9,264 boys and 9,389 girls since 1880. See Palmer as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Palmer began as a word for a pilgrim — specifically one who had walked to the Holy Land and come home carrying a palm frond as proof of the journey. Chaucer names such travelers in the opening lines of The Canterbury Tales, and Shakespeare plays on the word in Romeo and Juliet's "palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." Six centuries later it is a two-syllable American first name, warm at the front and crisp at the close.
How old is the name Palmer?
Palmer was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Palmer alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 5,200 people named Palmer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Palmer most popular?
Palmer peaked in 1908, reaching #383 nationally. Today it ranks #991, 608 places below that high. See the whole 1908 chart.
Palmer appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From palma (Latin, "palm") to Palmer
The story of Palmer
In medieval England a palmer was a particular kind of pilgrim: not merely someone who had gone on a journey, but someone back from Jerusalem, identifiable by the palm he brought with him. The word hardened into a byname and then into one of the ordinary English surnames, carried to North America with countless others and settled widely there. Like Parker, Harper and Carter before it, Palmer made the familiar jump from family name to first name — a pattern that has supplied English given names for well over a century. It arrived on the American charts early in the twentieth century and has spent most of its life quiet, with its real climb coming only lately.
Meaning
pilgrim — one who returned from the Holy Land with a palm branch
From Middle English palmere, via Anglo-Norman from Latin palmarius, on palma, "palm." The palm frond was the token a returning pilgrim wore or carried.
How the name formed
- palmaLatin, "palm"
- palmarius
- palmereMiddle English, "pilgrim"
- PalmerEnglish surname
- Palmergiven name
Related forms: Palmieri · Palmeri · Palmero · Palmeiro · Paumier
Pronouncing Palmer
PAHL-mer
Many American speakers drop the l, exactly as in the word palm, giving PAH-mer. Both are standard and no one will correct you.
Nicknames for Palmer
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2025230 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #383reached in 1908
- Change vs 2022
- +15.0%230 in 2025, from 200
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Palmer in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Palmieri in Italian — related form
- Palmeri in Italian — related form
- Palmero in Spanish — related form
- Palmeiro in Portuguese — related form
- Paumier in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, Texas, North Carolina.
Palmers among us
people named Palmer are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 7,426 born in 2025 was named Palmer
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Palmer is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Palmer is headed
Palmer should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Palmer beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Palmer in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A spelling everyone already knows from the ordinary English surname, so it is written correctly the first time.
- One clear stress pattern and two syllables — easy to say, easy for a small child to learn to write.
- A documented word history running back through Middle English to Latin, with a settled meaning parents can state.
- Works on a form, a name tag or a résumé at any age, having spent centuries as a family name before becoming a first name.
- It is on a real upward climb right now. A child named Palmer today will very likely be the only one in the class, but may well meet others by the time she or he finishes school.
- The spelling goes to both girls and boys, with boys the smaller share. Expect occasional mix-ups on paperwork and forms that guess wrong — nothing worse, but worth knowing in advance.
- Almost nothing shortens from it, so a child who wants a nickname will have to borrow one from a middle name.
- In the US the word is attached to the half-iced-tea, half-lemonade drink named for a famous golfer — a mild, mostly friendly association that some adults will mention.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Palmer to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Palmer? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Palmer
Masculine · Latin roots · #991 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Palmers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,200 people named Palmer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Palmer in 2025?
- Palmer ranks #991 among US boy names in 2025, with 230 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Palmer?
- About 1 in every 7,426 US boys born in 2025 was named Palmer — 230 in all.
- Will my child share the name Palmer with classmates?
- Palmer will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Palmer
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aurelius#991 · Joe#991 · Harold#991 · Blaine#991 · Ephraim#988 · Isael#988 · Jiraiya#988 · Landry#996
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Palmer? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Palmer and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle