Romer
An old surname for a pilgrim to Rome, or more generally a wanderer or roamer.
The #9,407 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,336 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained from Middle English romer, meaning a roamer or wanderer, and especially a person who had made a pilgrimage to Rome. The word is linked through Old French forms to Latin Roma, “Rome.” Some 19th-century writers also treated it as a variant or corruption of related forms such as Romare or Romieu.
History
In medieval English usage, a romer could describe a pilgrim, particularly one returning from Rome, and surnames of this type often began as bynames. The name also appears in later records among British and French bearers, and some sources connect it with place-based or continental forms such as Romilly or Roumare. Because several similar surnames overlapped in spelling, some family lines may not share the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Medieval writers used the term in a religious sense as well as a literal one: a “romer” could be a pilgrim, not just any traveler.
From the historical record
“[Ital. romeo ; f. Lat. Roma, Rome] ROMER (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Roamer, Wanderer; prop. Pilgrim to Rome [M,E. romer(e, O.Fr. romier ; f. Lat. Roma, Rome] And religiouse romeris [var. romares] Recordare in hir [their] cloistres. — Piers Plowman, 2321-2. RO M I LLY (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Bel. to Romilly (France)”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Romer
- Paul Romer (b. 1955)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.