Wilmer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Wilmer family
The surname Wilmer was first found in Hampshire at Woolmer, between Liphook and Bordon. The surrounding Woolmer (Wolmer) Forest, is a Royal forest. Woolmer Green is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire.
"The surname is more probably from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Wulmer." 1
The earliest record of the family was found at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086 when Wlmer, Vlfmer, Wlmer were all listed at that time 2 A few years later, Ulmer Aeltredes was listed in Suffolk c. 1095. 3 This latter source also notes that the name could have been derived "from a lost Wolmoor in Ormskirk, Lancashire 'wolves moor'. " 3 But he also concurs that the aforementioned Woolmer Forest origin may be a possibility. Woolmore Fram in Melksham, Wiltshire was derived from "wolves' pool."
Early History of the Wilmer family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wilmer research. Another 172 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1097, 1246, 1478, 1510, 1512, 1537, 1632, 1655, 1685, 1692, 1718, 1720, 1755 and 1772 are included under the topic Early Wilmer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wilmer Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Wolmer, Woolmer, Wollmore, Woolman, Ullmer, Ulmer, Wollmer, Wulmar, Wulmare, Wilmore, Wilmer, Wilmere, Wulmere, Woolmore, Woolmore, Wollmor and many more.
Early Notables of the Wilmer family
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Richard Wolman or Woleman (d. 1537), English divine, Dean of Wells, presumed to have been the son of Richard Wolman, cater to John Howard, duke of Norfolk. "There was a family of the name at Alderford, Norfolk. In 1478 Richard Wolman was a member of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He also studied abroad, being entered in the...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wilmer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wilmer Ranking
In the United States, the name Wilmer is the 14,146th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4
Wilmer migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Wilmer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- John Wilmer, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682 5
Wilmer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Anton Wilmer, who arrived in New York in 1709 5
- James Wilmer, who landed in Maryland in 1773 5
Wilmer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Gotleib Wilmer, aged 25, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1845 5
- Helena Johanna Wilmer, who arrived in America in 1845 5
- Arnold Wilmer, who landed in America in 1847 5
- Eberh Wilmer, who arrived in America in 1847 5
- M G Wilmer, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
Wilmer migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Wilmer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Mr. John Wilmer, English convict who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for life, transported aboard the "Caledonia" in 19th June 1822, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
- Henry Wilmer, aged 47, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Coromandel" 7
Contemporary Notables of the name Wilmer (post 1700) +
- Douglas Wilmer (1920-2016), English actor, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes in the 1965 TV series
- Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938), American painter, founding member of the Ten American Painters and taught at the Art Students League of New York
- James Wilmer Wine (1918-1990), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, 1961-62; Ivory Coast, 1962-65 8
- John Wilmer Galbreath (1897-1988), American building contractor, sportsman and philanthropist
- Bladen Wilmer Hawke (1901-1985), British politician, 9th Baron Hawke
- J. Wilmer Fisher, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1932 9
- Bernard Wilmer West (b. 1888), American Republican politician, Dentist 10
- Wilmer Cable "Bill" Butler (1921-2023), American Academy Award nominated cinematographer, known for his work on The Conversation (1974), Jaws (1975), three Rocky sequels and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
- Wilmer F. Stone, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from New York County 9th District, 1921; Candidate for New York State Senate 15th District, 1922 11
- Wilmer Clemont Fields (1922-2018), American Southern Baptist minister, public relations executive, newspaper editor and author
Historic Events for the Wilmer family +
- Mr. William Wilmer, English Pantry Steward from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 12
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- "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)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
- South Australian Register Tuesday 9th January 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Coromandel 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/coromandel1855.shtml
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/