Given name & surname
Elmar
Elmar is a masculine given name. It is used in German, Estonian, and Faroese.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Elmar is a variant of Elmer. An origin associated with Elmer is Old English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In German usage, Elmar is a diminutive of ADELMAR.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Elmar is a variant of Elmer. The history of Elmer gives this family its wider story. Elmer’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Elmar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 314
- 294 boys · 20 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 15 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 15 in 1923. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 630 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Elmar’s family of names
In German usage, Elmar is a diminutive of ADELMAR. Elmar has a related form in Elmer. In German usage, Elmar has a related form in ELIMAR.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Elmar
- Elmar GasimovAzerbaijani judokaborn 1990
- Elmar KlosCzech director, scriptwriter and university educator (1910–1993)
- Elmar MammadyarovAzerbaijani diplomatborn 1960
- Elmar BrokGerman politicianborn 1946
- Elmar BorrmannGerman fencerborn 1957
- Elmar WepperGerman actor (1944–2023)
- Elmar ReindersDutch bicycle riderborn 1992
- Elmar FischerRoman Catholic bishop of Feldkirch, Austria (1936–2022)
- Elmar AltvaterGerman Marxist academic (1938-2018)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Elmar, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Delmar
“a man of the sea”
>99% boys
Einar
“a leading warrior”
>99% boys
Elroy
“a red-haired young man” · “a king”
>99% boys
Olan
“the last of the ancestors”
>99% boys
Elton
“a spontaneous woman” · “from the old town”
99% boys · 1% girls
Elden
“an old friend”
>99% boys
Elwyn
“a friend of the elves”
81% boys · 19% girls
Elson
“from the nobleman's town”
>99% boys