Given name & surname · also Old Norse
Hjalmar
“one who wears an army helmet”
Hjalmar is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “one who wears an army helmet.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “one who wears an army helmet.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
Its Old Norse formation brings together hjálmr (“helmet, protection”) and herr (“army, warrior”).
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1889. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Hjalmar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 115
- 115 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1916
- 13 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 5 in 1937. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 13 in 1916. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 157 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.
Hjalmar’s family of names
In Faroese usage, Hjalmar shares an earlier linguistic root with Hjálmar. Hjalmar has a related form in Hjalamar. Hjalmar has a related form in Hjalamarr.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Hjalmervariant
- Hjallmervariant
- Hjalamerrvariant
- Hjalmerrvariant
- Hjalamervariant
- Hjalamarrvariant
- Hjallmarvariant
- Hjalamarvariant
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Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Hjalmar
- Hjalmar SchachtGerman politician and economist (1877–1970)
- Hjalmar SöderbergSwedish writer (1869–1941)
- Hjalmar Hammarskjöld20th-century prime minister of Sweden (1862-1953)
- Hjalmar SiilasvuoFinnish general (1892–1947)
- Hjalmar Andersenspeed skater from Norway (1923-2013)
- Hjalmar JohansenNorwegian explorer1867–1913
- Hjalmar BergmanSwedish writer (1883–1931)
- Hjalmar EkdalSwedish footballer (born 1998)
- Hjalmar JohanssonSportsman (1874–1957)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Hjalmar, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Alver
“wholly, entirely” · “weather”
96% boys · 4% girls
Other
Other is a masculine given name from Old Norse.
>99% boys
Ahti
“wealth, property”
>99% boys
Aage
“representative of ancestors”
>99% boys
Arvid
“from the eagle's tree”
>99% boys
Thorvald
“follower of Thor”
>99% boys
Einar
“a leading warrior”
>99% boys
Erland
“from the nobleman's land” · “a foreigner; stranger”
>99% boys