boy's name
Elmer
EL-mer
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 131,488
Elmer means noble and famous, and its American popularity is traceable to two brothers — the Ebenezer and Jonathan Elmer who signed early revolutionary documents, after whom patriotic families went on to name sons.
- Elmer is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1918, when 4,416 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 20,093 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Elmer over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 4,642 |
| 1890s | 5,741 |
| 1900s | 6,309 |
| 1910s | 28,957 |
| 1920s | 35,449 |
| 1930s | 17,686 |
| 1940s | 11,034 |
| 1950s | 6,974 |
| 1960s | 3,869 |
| 1970s | 2,142 |
| 1980s | 1,572 |
| 1990s | 2,104 |
| 2000s | 2,274 |
| 2010s | 1,639 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 952 |
What Elmer means
Elmer means noble and famous. The Old English joins a word for nobility to one meaning famous or renowned, so both halves describe standing rather than character.
Where Elmer comes from
Elmer descends from the Old English Æthelmær — æthel, noble, joined to mær, famous. The æthel element is everywhere in Anglo-Saxon royal naming: Æthelred, Æthelstan, Æthelflæd and the Ethel that survives on its own. The name became a surname and then, in nineteenth-century America, a given name honoring Ebenezer and Jonathan Elmer, New Jersey brothers active in the Revolution. Elmer Fudd, from 1940, has since done more for the name's recognition than for its use.
Elmer in use
Elmer peaked in the United States in 1918, when 4,416 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 1223rd in the United States on 165 births, across 131,488 lifetime births. It sits with Lester, Myrtle and Viola in the 1918 cohort, of which Viola is already reviving.
How popular is Elmer?
In 2025, Elmer was given to 165 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Elmer is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Elmer
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Elmer also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Elmer over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Elmer in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Elmer
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Elmer — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Elmer
What does the name Elmer mean?
Noble and famous — the Old English æthel, noble, joined to mær, famous.
Why did Elmer become popular in America?
Patriotic families named sons after Ebenezer and Jonathan Elmer, New Jersey brothers active in the Revolution.
Is Elmer related to Ethel?
In its first element — æthel, noble, begins both.
How popular is Elmer?
1223rd in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Elmer a girl's or a boy's name?
Elmer is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Elmer?
Elmer has 2 syllables.
Is Elmer a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Elmer currently ranks #1,223 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.