Palmer
An English surname for a pilgrim who had reached the Holy Land and brought back a palm frond as proof, from Latin palma.
Palmer in 2025
Palmer was given to 1,560 babies in the United States in 2025 — 230 boys and 1,330 girls, making it the 436th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 2,125 babies born.
The history of Palmer
Palmer reached its highest point in 2025, when 1,560 babies were given the name, ranking 436th that year.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 18,653 babies have been named Palmer. Half of them were born before 2018, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Alpha.
Palmer has switched sex over its history: it went mostly to boys in its early decades, and goes mostly to girls today.
Palmer by decade
| Decade | Babies named Palmer | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 96 | 961 |
| 1890s | 142 | 1,036 |
| 1900s | 234 | 898 |
| 1910s | 1,069 | 953 |
| 1920s | 1,349 | 1,011 |
| 1930s | 829 | 1,208 |
| 1940s | 661 | 1,497 |
| 1950s | 480 | 2,170 |
| 1960s | 353 | 2,548 |
| 1970s | 189 | 3,861 |
| 1980s | 271 | 3,702 |
| 1990s | 550 | 2,958 |
| 2000s | 928 | 2,923 |
| 2010s | 3,599 | 760 |
| 2020s | 7,903 | 436 |
Where Palmer is heading
Palmer has grown more than 5.0 times over the past decade, from 314 babies in 2015 to 1,560 in 2025.
Names like Palmer
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Palmer.