LEMMER
The surname Lemmer has a presence across several European countries and the United States, and scholarly sources attribute it to German, Old English and Dutch origins. The reported meanings range from a reference to a limb or a branch, to a lamb, or to a place associated with lime trees.
In Germanic records the name is linked to the Middle High German word lemme, meaning “limb’’ or “branch”. A topographic surname would have been given to a person dwelling near a prominent limb of a tree. Other German interpretations see the name as a nickname derived from the word lamm, meaning “lamb”. That sense would suggest an occupation such as shepherd, or a symbolic reference to tranquility.
In England the earliest documented example dates to 1221 with the name Robert Lemmer in the Cambridgeshire County Records. The name is also recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as variants such as Lefmer, Leodmar and Leomar. Several medieval documents – for example the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire (1273) and the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex (1332) – contain the spelling Limer or Lemmer. The Anglo‑Saxon personal name Leodmaer, meaning “people‑famous’’ or, in its variant Leofmaer, “dear‑famous”, is considered a possible source.
The Dutch form of the name appears in documentary evidence from the fifteenth century and is related to the Latin word for a loud shout or war cry. Variant spellings such as Lammer, Leemers, Lemeres, Limmer and Limmeren are reported. The surname is found homogeneously in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and other European states.
In contemporary Germany the name is most common in the states of Bavaria, North Rhine‑Westphalia, Berlin and Lower Saxony, though it is present in all sixteen federal states. In the United States the name occurs mainly in states that historically received large numbers of German immigrants, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York and Wisconsin. Smaller concentrations can also be found in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Common variant spellings include Limmer, Limer, Lymer, Lymar, Lemmerer, Lembere, Lemere, Lemmmerer, Lemerle and Leommer. Hyphenated forms such as Lammer‑Lemers and Lemberg‑Leemers are also recorded.
The family crest traditionally displays a black bull on a red or white shield, a symbol that has been associated with the strength of the family and its ancestral homeland.
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Lemmer in...
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There are approximately 109 people named Lemmer in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around two in a million people in Britain are named Lemmer.
