Palmer is a unisex given name that is a transferred use of a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

meaning '' palm bearer'' or ''

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

''.

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

pilgrims to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

traditionally carried the palms. The name can also be given in reference to the palms that are traditionally carried by

s on the

Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...

before

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

. The palms from the previous year are burned and the ashes are used to smudge the foreheads of worshippers attending

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

services during

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

in some Christian churches as a physical reminder of their mortality.

Popularity

It has been among the one thousand most popular given names for girls in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

since 2018 and among the 300 most popular names for American girls since 2022. 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 1,000 most popular names for American boys between 1881 and 1949 but then declined in popularity as a masculine name. It was again one of the 1,000 most common names for American boys in 2021 and in 2023, but was not ranked among the 1,000 most popular names for American boys in 2022 or 2024.

People with the given name

Palmer Burch Palmer Burch (March 7, 1907 – June 28, 1990) was an American politician who served as the Treasurer of Colorado from 1971 to 1975. He previously served in the Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the ...

(1907–1990), American politician * Palmer W. Collins (1930–2018), American politician *

Palmer Cox Palmer Cox (April 28, 1840 – July 24, 1924) was a Canadian illustrator and author, best known for '' The Brownies'', his series of humorous verse books and comic strips about the mischievous but kindhearted fairy-like sprites. The cartoons we ...

(1840–1924), Canadian illustrator and author * Palmer F. Daugs (1903–1980), American politician * Palmer DePaulis (born 1945), American politician * Palmer D. Farrington (1918–1996), American politician *Palmer Griffiths (1880–1973), Welsh rugby union footballer * H. Palmer Hall (1942-2013), American poet, fiction writer, essayist, editor and librarian * Palmer E. Havens (1818–1886), American politician *

Palmer Hayden Palmer C. Hayden (born Peyton Cole Hedgeman; January 15, 1890 – February 18, 1973) was an American painter who depicted African-American life, landscapes, seascapes, and African influences. He sketched, painted in both oils and watercolo ...

(1890–1973), American painter * Palmer Kelley, American baseball player *

Palmer Luckey Palmer Freeman Luckey (born September 19, 1992) is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of Oculus VR and designer of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality ...

(born 1992), American entrepreneur *

Palmer McAbee Palmer Braden McAbee (April 28, 1894 in Cherokee County, Alabama – October 15, 1970 in Centre, Alabama) was an American blues harmonica player. Little is known of his life. Career On February 21, 1928, he recorded two tracks in Atlanta, Georgi ...

(1894–1970), American musician * Palmer E. Pierce (1865–1940), American general and sports administrator *

Palmer Cosslett Putnam Palmer Cosslett Putnam (1900–1984) was an American consulting engineer and wind-power pioneer, the son of George Haven Putnam and Emily (Smith) Putnam (1865–1944). Putnam graduated from MIT in 1924 as a geologist after serving in the ...

(1900–1984), American engineer *

Palmer Pyle William Palmer Pyle Jr. (June 6, 1937 – September 30, 2021) was an American professional football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). He played a total of six seasons for the NFL's Ba ...

(1937–2021), American football player * Palmer C. Ricketts (1856–1934), American academic administrator *

Palmer Taylor Palmer Taylor (born 13 September 1992 at Welland, Ontario) is a Canadian snowboarder. Raised in Pelham, Ontario, she competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mai ...

(born 1992), Canadian snowboarder *

Palmer Wapau Palmer Wapau (born 16 January 1983) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s. He played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League. He played five-eighth, second row and prop. Early life Wapau was edu ...

(born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer *

Palmer Williams Palmer Williams ( – January 1, 1996) was an American broadcast journalist and documentary film maker. He worked closely with Edward R. Murrow. Williams with CBS Williams spent most of his career at CBS News working in both radio and television. ...

(?–1996), American journalist * Palmer Williams Jr. (born 1965), American actor

Fictional characters

Palmer Cortlandt ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

, a character on the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' *Palmer Dodge, a character in comedy film ''

Just Go with It ''Just Go With It'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, and Heather Parry. It is a remake of the 1969 film '' Cactus Flower ...

'' *Palmer Joss, a character in the 1985 science fiction novel ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * C ...

Notes

{{given name English masculine given names Masculine given names English feminine given names Feminine given names Given names originating from a surname