Dimmer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Ireland

The name Dimmer reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Dimmer family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Dimmer family lived in Northumberland. The family are descended in England from the Norman House of Baron Foulke de Dinan, whose surname translates as from Dinan. The name Dimmer derives from the abbreviated form Dinan.

Early Origins of the Dimmer family

The surname Dimmer was first found in Northumberland where they were granted lands by William the Conqueror, and were Companions in Arms to the Lords of Mitford and Bothal. Sir Alain Dinan was the scion of this family. In Brittany he was descended from Baron Foulke de Dinan, and the family still retained the Barony in Brittany from 1295 to 1509. The name in England became Dinner, Diner, and Dinar.

Early History of the Dimmer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dimmer research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dimmer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dimmer Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Dinan, Dinner, Diner, Dinar and others.

Early Notables of the Dimmer family

More information is included under the topic Early Dimmer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dimmer family to Ireland

Some of the Dimmer family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dimmer migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Dimmer name or one of its variants:

Dimmer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Catharine Dimmer, who settled in New York in 1832
Franz Dimmer, who arrived in New York, NY in 1854
Mr. Dimmer, who landed in New York, NY in 1854 1
E. Dimmer, who arrived in Iowa in 1891-1892
Joseph Dimmer, who settled in South Dakota in 1891-1892

Dimmer migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dimmer Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

George Dimmer, who settled in Ontario in 1871

Contemporary Notables of the name Dimmer (post 1700) +

John Henry Stephen Dimmer (1883-1918), English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces
Camille Dimmer (1939-2023), Luxembourgish professional footballer and politician and engineer

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)