Palmer

What Palmer means

Means “a pilgrim from the Holy Land”

From Middle English palmer (“a pilgrim from the Holy Land”), from Old French.

Source: Wiktionary, “Palmer” (revision 94542429), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Palmer?

US: Rising: up from #1337 in 2015. England & Wales: New in the last 10 years.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 1,330 girls got the name (#232 that year). First in the US records in 1908.

How common

• About 1 in 1,208 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 12,664 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ND (4.44 per 1,000 girls), SD (3.28 per 1,000 girls), NE (2.96 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Palmer is #232 in the US and #1512 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 85.3% of US babies named Palmer were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Palmer

Girls

• Ivy#39From the word “ivy”^*
• Cecilia#108possibly “blind”^*
• Oakley#156“oak + woodland clearing, glade”^*
• Magnolia#124Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #634 in 2015, #124 in 2025
• Maisie#233Diminutive of Margaret, meaning “pearl”^*
• Remi#145Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #502 in 2015, #145 in 2025

For a brother

• Koa#269Hawaiian, meaning “warrior, courage; koa tree”^*
• Muhammad#239“praised, commendable, laudable”^*
• Myles#100Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #223 in 2015, #100 in 2025
• Bodhi#265Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1976, with 5 babies
• August#81“month of August”^*
• Hayes#162“brushwood”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Palmer’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.