Given name & surname
Wilmer
“a strong-willed and wellknown man”
Wilmer is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “a strong-willed and wellknown man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “a strong-willed and wellknown man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
From Old English willa (“mind, will, determination, purpose, desire, wish”), from Proto-Germanic *Wiljamērijaz, built from Proto-Germanic *wiljô + *mērijaz.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wilmer through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 16,722
- 15,979 boys · 743 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 473 babies
- 2025
- 94
- #1,742 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +12%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 94 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,742 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 443 in 1920. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 12,924 as a first name in 2020; 1,939 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Wilmer’s family of names
Wilmer may have a short form in Will. This connection is qualified rather than certain. Wilmer has a related form in Wilmar. Wilmer has a related form in Willmer.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Willshort form
- Wilmarvariant
- Willmervariant
- Willmarvariant
- Wilmorevariant
- Willmarrvariant
- Wyllmarvariant
- Wyllmervariant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Across languages 1
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 Wilmer
- Wilmer ValderramaAmerican-Venezuelan actorborn 1980
- Wílmer CabreraColombian footballer and managerborn 1967
- Wilmer AllisonUS tennis player (1904-1977)
- Wílmer LópezCosta Rican footballerborn 1971
- Wilmer AguirrePeruvian footballerborn 1983
- Wilmer CrisantoHonduran footballerborn 1989
- Wilmer McLeanAmerican businessman, involved in the American Civil War (1814-1882)
- Wilmer VelásquezHonduran footballerborn 1972
- Wilmer FloresVenezuelan baseball playerborn 1991
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Wilmer, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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