Elmer
An old English surname probably reduced from Aylmer, later also linked by folk etymology to the elm tree in some records.
The #5,671 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,457 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest early dictionary tradition treats Elmer as a shortened or altered form of Aylmer, a medieval personal name. In that reading, it began as a patronymic meaning in effect “son of Aylmer,” rather than from the tree name itself. Some 19th-century writers also noted confusion with names spelled Ellmore or Elmore, and a few records may have encouraged a false association with “elm,” but that is not the main origin.
History
Medieval and early modern records show spellings such as Elmer and Elxnar alongside the better-known Aylmer. Bardsley and Lower both treat it as the same family of name as Aylmer, and Bardsley specifically warns not to confuse it with Elmore. The name survives as a comparatively uncommon English surname and is also found in the United States through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century anecdote punningly claimed that a bishop named Elmer had “marr[ed]” the elms by lopping them, showing how easily the surname invited wordplay with the tree.
From the historical record
“mmar, ]Blmar,—Bapt. 'the an of Elmer,' i.e. Aylmer, q.v. To be carefully distinguished from Elmore, q.v. jtJ73- A. ■”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances