Palmer (given name)
Palmer is a given name of English origin that is a transferred use of a surname meaning palm bearer or pilgrim. Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land traditionally carried the palms.[1] [2]
 Palm Sunday by Victorine-Louise Meurent. | |
| Gender | Unisex |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | English |
| Meaning | Palm bearer, pilgrim |
The name can also be given in reference to the palms that are traditionally carried by Christians worshippers on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The palms from the previous year are burned and the ashes used to smudge the foreheads of worshippers attending Ash Wednesday services during Holy Week in some Christian churches as a physical reminder of their mortality.[3]
Popularity
It has been among the one thousand most popular given names for girls in the United States since 2018 and among the three hundred and fifty most popular names for American girls since 2020. It is one of a number of surname names or previously masculine names that have become fashionable for American girls. The name was among the one thousand most popular names for American boys between 1881 and 1949 but then declined in popularity as a masculine name, though it is still also in use as a name for boys.[4] [5]
It is the given name of:
- Palmer Cox (1840–1924), Canadian illustrator and author
- Palmer E. Pierce (1865–1940), United States Army brigadier general and first president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
- H. Palmer Hall (1942-2013), American poet, fiction writer, essayist, editor and librarian
- Palmer Hayden (1890–1973), African-American painter
- Palmer Luckey (born 1992), American entrepreneur and founder of Oculus VR
- Palmer Cosslett Putnam (1900-1984), American consulting engineer and wind-power pioneer
- Palmer Pyle (born 1937), American retired National Football League and American Football League player
- Palmer Cortlandt, a fictional character on the American soap opera All My Children