Palmer is a given name that is a transferred use of a surname meaning palm bearer or pilgrim. Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land traditionally carried the palms.[1][2][3]
 Palm Sunday by Victorine-Louise Meurent. | |
| Pronunciation | UK: /ˈpɑːmər/ US: /ˈpɑːlmər/ |
|---|---|
| Gender | Unisex |
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old French |
| Word/name | palmier |
| Meaning | 'palm bearer, pilgrim' |
| Other names | |
| See also | Palmer (surname) |
The name can also be given in reference to the palms that are traditionally carried by Christians on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The palms from the previous year are burned and the ashes are used to smudge the foreheads of worshippers attending Ash Wednesday services during Holy Week in some Christian churches as a physical reminder of their mortality.[4]
Popularity
editIt has been among the one thousand most popular given names for girls in the United States since 2018 and among the 300 most popular names for American girls since 2022. It is one of a number of surname names or previously masculine names that have become fashionable for American girls. The name was among the 1,000 most popular names for American boys between 1881 and 1949 but then declined in popularity as a masculine name. It was again one of the 1,000 most common names for American boys in 2021, when it was used for 161 boys and ranked 990th on the popularity chart, compared with 883 uses for American girls in 2021, the year it ranked in 329th position on the list of most used names for newborn American girls. There were 1,071 American newborn girls named Palmer in 2022 compared with 199 newborn American boys, and 1,129 newborn American girls named Palmer in 2023 and 239 newborn American boys given the name that year.[5][6] [7]
People with the given name
edit- Palmer Burch (1907–1990), American politician
- Palmer W. Collins (1930–2018), American politician
- Palmer Cox (1840–1924), Canadian illustrator and author
- Palmer F. Daugs (1903–1980), American politician
- Palmer DePaulis (born 1945), American politician
- Palmer D. Farrington (1918–1996), American politician
- Palmer Griffiths (1880–1973), Welsh rugby union footballer
- H. Palmer Hall (1942-2013), American poet, fiction writer, essayist, editor and librarian
- Palmer E. Havens (1818–1886), American politician
- Palmer Hayden (1890–1973), American painter
- Palmer Kelley, American baseball player
- Palmer Luckey (born 1992), American entrepreneur
- Palmer McAbee (1894–1970), American musician
- Palmer E. Pierce (1865–1940), American general and sports administrator
- Palmer Cosslett Putnam (1900–1984), American engineer
- Palmer Pyle (1937–2021), American football player
- Palmer C. Ricketts (1856–1934), American academic administrator
- Palmer Taylor (born 1992), Canadian snowboarder
- Palmer Wapau (born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer
- Palmer Williams (?–1996), American journalist
- Palmer Williams Jr. (born 1965), American actor
Fictional characters
edit- Palmer Cortlandt, a character on the soap opera All My Children
- Palmer Dodge, a character in comedy film Just Go with It
Notes
edit- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.
- ^ "Meaning, origin and history of the name Palmer".
- ^ "Palmer Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms". January 2000.
- ^ "What happens to the palms from Palm Sunday Mass?".
- ^ "Popular Baby Names". Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ "Palmer - Baby Name Meaning, Origin, and Popularity".
- ^ "Names that increased in popularity from 2021 to 2022". ssa.gov. United States Social Security Administration. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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