Kramer (/ˈkreɪmər/ KRAY-mər) is an occupational surname of Dutch or Low German origin (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkraːmər] ) or is derived from the High German surname Krämer (pronounced [ˈkʁɛːmɐ] ).
In Middle Low German during the Late Middle Ages, Kramer meant "travelling merchant". The meaning later changed to "merchants trading with different rather small things".
People with this name
editA
edit- Aaron Kramer (1921–1997), American poet, essayist, and translator
- Adolf Kramer (1871–1934), Silesian German chess master
- Albert Kramer (1882–1943), Slovenian and Yugoslavian politician
- Alex Kramer (1903–1998), Canadian songwriter
- Amanda Kramer (born 1960s), American musician
- Andreas Kramer (born 1997), Swedish middle-distance runner
- Ann-Kathrin Kramer (born 1966), German writer and actress
- Annemarie Kramer (born 1975), Dutch sprinter
- Alisha Kramer (born 1990), American physician and health activist
- Arlene Kramer Richards (born c. 1935), American psychoanalyst
- Arnold Kramer (1882–1976) was an American folk artist
- Arthur Kramer (1927–2008), American lawyer
- Arthur F. Kramer, American neuroscientist
- Arvid Kramer (born 1956), American basketball player
B
edit- Barry Kramer (born 1942), American basketball player and jurist
- Barry Kramer, former editor and occasional host of Game Grumps
- Ben Kramer (1913–99), American basketball player
- Benjamin F. Kramer (born 1957), U.S. (Maryland) politician
- Bert Kramer (1934–2001), American actor
- Bill Kramer (born 1965), U.S. (Wisconsin) politician
- Billy J. Kramer (born 1943), British merseybeat singer
- Boaz Kramer (born 1978), Israeli wheelchair tennis player
- Bob Kramer (born c. 1957), American knifesmith
- Bryan Jared Kramer (born 1974), Member of Parliament for Madang Open, Papua New Guinea
- Bryan Jeffrey Kramer, American social media businessman
- Burton Kramer (born 1932), Canadian graphic designer and artist
C
edit- Cecilie Breil Kramer (born 1987), Danish football goalkeeper
- Charles Kramer (politician), (1879–1943), Californian politician
- Charles Kramer (economist) (1907–1992), American economist, spy for the Soviet Union in the 1940s
- Charles Kramer (attorney) (1916–1988), lawyer from New York
- Charles Kramer (producer) (born 1970s), American television producer
- Chiel Kramer (born 1992), Dutch football goalkeeper
- Chris Kramer (actor) (born 1975), Canadian television actor
- Chris Kramer (born 1988), American basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League
- Christian Kramer (?–1834), German composer and musician at the British court
- Christina Kramer (born c. 1963), Canadian Slavic linguist
- Christoph Kramer (born 1991), German footballer
- Clare Kramer (born 1974), American actress
D
edit- Daniel Kramer (born 1977), American stage and opera director
- David Kramer (singer) (born 1951), South African singer, songwriter, playwright and director
- David Kramer (soccer) (born 1972), American soccer goalkeeper
- David J. Kramer, United States Assistant Secretary of State for democracy, human rights, and labor, 2008–2009
- Dawn Kramer (born 1945), American choreographer and dancer
- Dean Kramer (born 1952), American pianist
- Denise Kramer-Scholer (born 1910, date of death unknown), Swiss fencer
- Dennis Kramer (1992–2023), German-American basketball player
- Dick Kramer (born 1972), Dutch cricketer
- Dieter Kramer (born 1959), German footballer
- Don Kramer (born 1969), American comics artist
- Don Kramer (politician) (born 1940), American politician
- Doug Kramer (born 1983), Filipino basketball player
- Doug Kramer (American football) (born 1998), American football player
E
edit- Eddie Kramer (born 1941), South African audio engineer and producer
- Edith Kramer (1916–2014), Austrian artist
- Edmond Kramer (1906–1945), Swiss footballer
- Edna Kramer (1902–1984), American mathematician
- Edward E. Kramer (born 1961), American editor and author of science fiction, fantasy, and horror works
- Eileen Kramer (1914–2024), Australian dancer, artist, performer and choreographer
- Eiling Kramer (1914–1999), Canadian Politician
- Eitan Kramer (born 1978), American Vert Skater
- Eliyahu Kramer “Vilna Gaon” (1720–1797) Lithuanian Rabbi, the genius of Vilna
- Eric Allan Kramer (born 1962), American actor
- Erik Kramer (born 1964), American football quarterback
- Erwin Kramer (1902–1979), German politician
F
edit- Felix Kramer (born 1949), American founder of CalCars
- Ferdinand Kramer (1898–1985), German architect and functionalist designer
- Francisco Villagrán Kramer (1927–2011), Guatemalan legal scholar and politician
- Frank Kramer (artist) (1905–1993), American artist and illustrator
- Frank Kramer (director) (1925–2018), a pseudonym of the Italian film director Gianfranco Parolini
- Frank Kramer (footballer, born 1972) (born 1972), German football player and coach
- Frank Louis Kramer (1880–1952), American cyclist and United States Bicycling Hall of Fame inductee
- Franz Kramer (1865–1924), United States Navy sailor
G
edit- Garret Kramer (born c. 1962), American mental performance coach
- George Kramer (philatelist), American philatelist
- George W. Kramer (1848–1938), American architect
- Georges Kramer (1898-?), Swiss football player and coach
- Gordon Kramer (1921–1989), Australian rules footballer
- Gorni Kramer (1913–1995), Italian songwriter, musician, and band leader
- Greg Kramer (1961–2013), British-born Canadian author, actor, director, and magician
- Gustav Kramer (1910–1959), German zoologist and ornithologist
H
edit- Haije Kramer (1917–2004), Dutch chess master and theoretician
- Harry Kramer (announcer) (1911–1996), American radio and television announcer
- Harry Kramer (German artist) (1925–1997), German artist
- Harry Kramer (American artist) (born 1939), American artist
- Heinrich Kramer a.k.a. Heinrich Institor (c. 1430 – 1505), Alsatian churchman and inquisitor
- Heinz Kramer (1925–1965), German sports shooter
- Hilaria Kramer (born 1967), Swiss jazz trumpeter and composer
- Hilton Kramer (1928–2012), American art critic
I
edit- Ida Kramer, (1877/1878 – 1930), American actress
- Iris Kramer (born 1981), German motorcycle trials rider
J
edit- Jack Kramer (baseball) (1918–1995), American baseball pitcher
- Jack Kramer (American football) (1919–1978), American football player
- Jack Kramer (1921–2009), American tennis player
- Jacob Kramer (1892–1962), Ukrainian-born painter in England
- Jana Kramer (born 1983), American actress
- Jane Kramer (born 1938), American journalist
- Jason Kramer (born c. 1970), American radio personality
- Jeffrey Kramer (born 1945), American film and television actor and producer
- Jens Kramer Mikkelsen (born 1951), Danish mayor of Copenhagen
- Jeroen Kramer (born 1967), Dutch photographer
- Jerry Kramer (born 1936), American professional football player
- Jessy Kramer (born 1990), Dutch team handball player
- Jim Kramer (born 1958), American Scrabble player
- Joan Whitney Kramer (1914–1990), American singer and songwriter
- Joel Kramer (born 1955), American basketball player
- Joey Kramer (born 1950), American drummer with the musical group Aerosmith
- John Kramer (darts player) (born 1956), American darts player
- John R. Kramer (1937–2006), American law educator
- Jolly Kramer-Johansen (1902–1968), Norwegian composer
- Jonathan Kramer (1942–2004), American composer and music theorist
- Joris Kramer (born 1996), Dutch footballer
- Josef Kramer (1906–1945), German commandant of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp executed for war crimes
K
edit- Kane Kramer (born 1956), British inventor and businessman
- Ken Kramer (born 1942), American politician
- Kenny Kramer (born 1943), American stand-up comedian, on whom the Seinfeld character Cosmo Kramer was based
- Kent Kramer (born 1944), American professional football player
- Kent A. Kramer (born 1961), Iowan politician
- Kieran Kramer, American romance novelist
L
edit- Lance Kramer, an animation director on The Simpsons
- Larry Kramer (1935–2020), American dramatist, author and gay rights activist
- Larry Kramer (American football) (1942–2014), American football player and coach
- Larry Kramer (legal scholar) (born 1958), American legal scholar, dean of Stanford Law School
- Lawrence Kramer (musicologist) (born 1946), American musicologist
- Lawrence Francis Kramer (born 1933), American politician, two-time Mayor of Paterson, New Jersey
- Leah Kramer, American craftster, author, website programmer
- Leonie Kramer (1924–2016), Australian academic and commentator
- Leopold Kramer (1869–1942), Austrian stage and film actor
- Lloyd Kramer (born 1947), American filmmaker
- Louis Kramer (1848–1922), American baseball executive
- Louise Kramer (1923–2020), American sculptor
- Lud Kramer (1932–2004), U.S. politician in Washington State
- Lynn Kramer, American skateboarder
M
edit- Mandel Kramer (1916–1989), American TV actor and voice actor
- Marcia Kramer (born 1948), American journalist
- Mariska Kramer (born 1974), Dutch triathlete
- Mark Kramer (jazz pianist) (born 1945), American jazz musician
- Mark Kramer (born 1958), American alternative rock musician and producer
- Mark Kramer (journalist), Mark William Kramer, an American journalist, author, professor, and editor.
- Martin Kramer (born 1954), American author on Islam and Arab politics
- Mary Kramer (born 1935), American (Iowa) politician
- Matt Kramer (musician) (born 1968), American singer formerly with rock band Saigon Kick
- Matt Kramer (wine writer), American wine writer
- Matthew Kramer (born 1959), American philosopher at the University of Cambridge
- Max Kramer (1903–1986), German scientist, developed Ruhrstahl X-4 missile (1943–1945)
- Michael Kramer (astronomer) (born 1967), German astronomer and astrophysicist
- Michael Kramer (narrator), American audiobook narrator
- Michael Eric Kramer, American film actor
- Michiel Kramer (born 1988), Dutch footballer
- Mike Kramer (born 1955), American football coach
N
edit- Nathaniel Kramer (born 1961), American filmmaker
- Nicole Kramer (born 1962), American swimmer
O
edit- Orin Kramer (born c. 1945), American hedge fund manager
- Oscar Kramer (1935–2010), Argentine film producer
P
edit- Pascale Kramer (born 1961), Swiss author
- Paul J. Kramer (1904–1995), American biologist and plant physiologist.
- Paul Kramer (1933–2020), U.S. (New Jersey) politician
- Perry Kramer (born 1959), U.S. motocross racer
- Peter Kramer (physicist) (born 1933), German physicist
- Peter Kramer (priest), German priest convicted of child abuse
- Peter D. Kramer (born 1948), American psychiatrist
- Philip Taylor Kramer (1952–1995), American physicist and bassist with the musical group Iron Butterfly
- Piet Kramer (1881–1961), Dutch architect
R
edit- Rachel Kramer (born 1980), Dutch singer
- Rachel Kramer Bussel (born 1975), American erotica writer
- Randy Kramer (born 1960), American baseball pitcher
- Regine Kramer (born 1993), German pole vaulter
- Rene Kramer (born 1987), German ice hockey player
- Rhonda Kramer, American air traffic reporter
- Richard Kramer (judge) (born 1947), American superior court judge
- Richard Kramer (writer) (born 1952), American screenwriter, novelist and television producer
- Richard J. Kramer (born 1963), American CEO of Goodyear Tire Co.
- Robert Kramer (1939–1999), American film director, screenwriter and actor
- Roger Kramer (b.~1939), Canadian football player
- Ron Kramer (1935–2010), American football player
- Rona E. Kramer (born 1954), Maryland politician
- Ronald Kramer (business) (born c. 1959), American businessman
- Roy Kramer, American college football coach and athletics administrator
- Rudolf Kramer (1886–?), Austrian road racing cyclist
- Rudolf Kramer (poultry expert) (1844–1904), German poultry expert
- Ruth Kramer (1926 –2015), All-American girls professional baseball league player
S
edit- Samuel Noah Kramer (1897–1990), Ukraine-born American historian and assyriologist
- Sarah Kramer (born 1968), Canadian cookbook author
- Shalom Kramer (1912–1978), Israeli essayist, editor, and literary critic
- Sherry Kramer, American playwright
- Shlomo Kramer, Israeli information technology entrepreneur
- Sidney B. Kramer (1915–2014), American publishing executive and literary agent
- Sidney Kramer (1925–2022), American (Maryland) politician
- Stanley Kramer (1913–2001), American movie director and producer
- Stefan Kramer (impressionist) (born 1982), Chilean impressionist, actor, comedian and announcer
- Stella Kramer (born 1989), German handball player
- Stepfanie Kramer (born 1956), American actress and singer
- Steve Kramer (basketball) (born 1945), American basketball player
- Steve Kramer (actor) (born 1948), American voice actor
- Susan Kramer (born 1950), English politician, Liberal Democrat member of parliament
- Sven Kramer (born 1986), Dutch speed skater
T
edit- Theodor Kramer (1897–1958), Austrian poet
- Theodore L. Kramer (1847–1910), American Civil War soldier
- Thomas Kramer (born 1957), German-born real estate developer and venture capitalist
- Tim Kramer (1952 or 1958 – 1992), American porn star
- Tom Kramer (born 1968), American baseball pitcher
- Tommy Kramer (born 1955), American football quarterback
- Tosca Kramer (1903–1976), New Zealand-born American violinist and violist
- Trey Kramer (born 1988), American football player
V
edit- Vjekoslav Kramer (born 1976), Bosnian television chef
W
edit- Walter R. Kramer (1914–1995), U.S. badminton champion
- Wayne Kramer (guitarist) (born 1948), American musician with the group MC5
- Wayne Kramer (filmmaker) (born 1965), South African screenwriter and film director
- Wilhelm Kramer (1801–1876), German otologist
- Wilhelm Heinrich Kramer (died 1765), German-born Austrian Hungarian botanist, physician and military surgeon
- William M. Kramer (1920–2004), American rabbi and art collector
- Wolfgang Kramer (born 1942), German game designer
Y
edit- Yep Kramer (born 1957), Dutch speed skater
Fictional people
edit- Bernard Kramer, founder of Kramer Associates in Robert Sobel's alternate history novel For Want of a Nail
- Chas Kramer, a character played by Shia LaBeouf in the 2005 film Constantine (film)
- Cosmo Kramer, a character in the television series Seinfeld
- Jens Kramer, character on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe
- John Kramer (Saw), a fictional character in the Saw film series; also known as Jigsaw
- Lisa Kramer, a character played by Debra Messing in the 2004 American romantic comedy film Along Came Polly
- Margaux Kramer, a character played by Ami Foster in the television sitcom Punky Brewster
- Rex Kramer, Danger Seeker, a character in the 1977 American comedy film The Kentucky Fried Movie
- Rex Kramer, a character in the 1980 American comedy film Airplane!
- Tromp Kramer, Afrikaner Detective in James McClure's Kramer and Zondi novels
- Ted, Joanna, and Billy Kramer, characters in the 1979 American drama film Kramer vs. Kramer portrayed by Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Justin Henry
Kramers
edit- Hendrik Anthony "Hans" Kramers (1894–1952), Dutch physicist, known for Kramers' law, Kramers' opacity law, Kramers theorem, Kramers–Heisenberg formula, Kramers–Kronig relations, and Kramers–Wannier duality.
See also
edit- Cramer (surname)
- Cremer surname
- Krämer, surname
- Krammer (surname)
- Kraemer (surname)
- Krahmer, surname
- Kremer, surname
- Krmar, surname
- Kramarz