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Grimmer History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Grimmer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The prestigious family surname Grimmer originated in the lands which eventually became the modern German state of Prussia. This territory was known for its beautiful landscape, its advanced technology, and its military power. However, in the medieval era, Prussia was fragmented and inhabited by numerous barbarian tribes who fought amongst themselves for control of the land. The borders of the Barbarian kingdoms, which were established after the fall of the Roman Empire, changed repeatedly. The region that came to be known as Prussia was roughly divided among the territories of Brandenburg-Prussia, West Prussia and East Prussia. The Grimmer family emerged in Brandenburg-Prussia, which is essentially the birthplace of modern Germany. By the 19th century, Brandenburg-Prussia had incorporated East Prussia, West Prussia and many other German territories. Moreover, in the late 19th century, it led the German states in the unification of Germany.

Early Origins of the Grimmer family

The surname Grimmer was first found in Prussia, where the name became noted for its many branches within the region, each house acquiring a status and influence which was envied by the princes of the region.

The Brother Grimm, Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786-1859), were German academics, philologists and cultural researchers, born in the town of Hanau in Hesse-Cassel. Their "fairy tales" or "folk stories" were complied in seven editions with many revisions in each edition. The collection included "Cinderella" ("Aschenputtel"), "The Frog Prince" ("Der Froschkönig"), ("Die Gänsemagd"), "Hansel and Gretel" ("Hänsel und Gretel"), "Rapunzel", "Beauty and the Beast", "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats", "The Three Little Pigs" and many more.

In England, Edward Grim (fl. 1170-1177), was a biographer of Becket, a native of Cambridge, a clerk, and had attained the degree of Master at some university before the end of 1170, when he visited Thomas Becket on the latter's return to Canterbury. "On the fatal evening, 29 Dec., Grim accompanied Thomas into the church, stood by him during his altercation with the knights, and shielded him from their violence, till, his own arm being nearly cut off by a stroke aimed at the primate, he fell to the ground, but was able to crawl away to the altar where the archbishop's other clerks had taken refuge, and thus escaped with his life." 1

Early History of the Grimmer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grimmer research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1785, 1786, 1792, 1828, 1859, 1863 and 1901 are included under the topic Early Grimmer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grimmer Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Grimmer include Grimm, Grim, Grimme, Grimmen, Grimmer, Grimer, Grymm and many more.

Early Notables of the Grimmer family

Notable figures of the time with the name Grimmer were Jacob (1785-1863) and his brother Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), born in Hessen, who were the founders of folklore as well as historians of the...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grimmer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grimmer Ranking

In the United States, the name Grimmer is the 15,187^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Grimmer migration to the United States +

Prussia played an extremely influential role in shaping modern German history. It remained a part of Germany until after the Second World War. Prussia was divided among the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany and West Germany. Many Prussians became residents of these new countries after the War, and many migrated to other parts of Germany or Europe, as well as to North America. In the United States, the majority of settlers landed in Philadelphia, and moved on to Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Many German settlers also migrated to Canada, particularly to Ontario and the Prairies. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Grimmer were

Grimmer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Konrad Grimmer, who arrived in New York, NY in 1852 3

Grimmer migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Grimmer Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Thomas Grimmer, from Philadelphia, United States, U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 4

Grimmer migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Grimmer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Grimmer, (b. 1796), aged 21, English labourer who was convicted in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1871 5
Mr. Frederick Grimmer, (b. 1824), aged 19, English labourer who was convicted in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1902 6
James Grimmer, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Princess Helena" in 1850 7

Grimmer migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Grimmer Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William Grimmer, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Zambesi" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1863 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Grimmer (post 1700) +

George Grimmer, American Republican politician, Member of Wisconsin State Senate, 1877-80 9
Derrick P. Grimmer, American politician, Representative from Iowa 3rd District, 1994 9
Margot Grimmer (b. 1944), American ballet dancer
Gerhard Grimmer (1943-2023), East German cross-country skier who competed during the 1960s and 1970s
Bernd Grimmer (1950-2021), German politician, member of Alternative for Germany, he served in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg from 2016 to 2021; he died from COVID-19
Gerhard Grimmer (b. 1943), East German cross-country skier
George Skeffington Grimmer (1826-1887), Canadian lawyer and political figure in New Brunswick
Abel Grimmer (1570-1620), Flemish Baroque painter
Robert Watson Grimmer (1866-1948), Canadian merchant and politician from New Brunswick
Jacob Grimmer (1526-1590), Flemish Renaissance landscape painter
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PANAMA 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850PrincessHelena.gif
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, July 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html