Brammer
Usually an English surname linked to a place-name, likely a reduced or altered form of a local name such as Bramall or a similar Yorkshire place-name.
The #6,943 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 63,922 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally treated as locational, arising from a place-name rather than a personal nickname or occupation. The historical sources suggest a connection with Yorkshire local names, especially Bramall, with the surname showing a shortened or smoothed pronunciation over time. The first element is likely the Old English personal name Brēam/Brām- or a place-name element related to broom or bramble, but the exact derivation is not perfectly secure from the excerpts alone.
History
Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surname writers associated Brammer with northern English local surnames and compared it with forms such as Bramer and Brame. Weekley specifically notes Brammer as a likely altered form of a Yorkshire local name, which fits the kind of phonetic simplification common in English surnames. The name is now relatively uncommon, but it has survived in Britain and especially in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1916 etymological note treats Brammer as an example of how a local surname can be “slurred” into a simpler modern form.
From the historical record
“Brame ; p.n. Or see Braham Bramley. A loc. n., Yorks Brammer. G. Bramer; F. Bremer; D. Brammer ; p.n. See Brame Bramwell. See Bramall Bran. A. S. Bren, Beorn (bear); G. Brann ; p.n.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)