Wimer
A surname with Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Saxon roots, often treated as a variant of Wymer or Wymar, meaning something like "famous in battle."
The #9,139 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,459 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Historical surname dictionaries treat Wimer as a variant spelling of Wymer/Wymar rather than a separate independent formation. The name is commonly traced to Old English elements wig meaning "battle" and mǣre meaning "famous," giving a sense of "battle-famous" or "famous in war." Some later forms also reflect medieval spellings influenced by Norman French scribal practice.
History
The name appears in medieval records in several spellings, including Wimer and Wymer, and was once more common in England than it is today. Bardsley notes it as a familiar English form and links it to older personal-name traditions, while Harrison gives a Domesday-era form as evidence for its antiquity. In later centuries it also appears in place-names and surname variants such as Winmarleigh and Wimerlegh.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A Lancashire place-name, Winmarleigh, was once recorded in forms related to Wimer/Wymer.
From the historical record
“uin-um), wine, vine- (as in wintreow, vine] WIMER (Eng.) the Domesday Wimer-us, A.-Sax. Wlgmckr = Battle - Famous [O.E. wig, war, battle + mcere, famous] WIMPENNY for Winpenny, q.v. WIMPLER (Eng.) Wimple-Maker [f. (with agent, suff. -er) M.E. ivimpel, O.E. wimpel,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)