Explore the Family Name Dummer
The meaning of Dummer
1. German: nickname meaning ‘the foolish one’, from a noun derivative of Middle High German tump ‘simple’ (see Dumm). 2. German (Dümmer): perhaps a topographic name from a lake near Oldenburg in Lower Saxony. 3. English: habitational name usually from Dummer in Hampshire, Old English dūn ‘hill’ + mere ‘pond or lake’, or occasionally perhaps from Dimmer, near Castle Cary in Somerset, recorded in 1241 as Dunmere. The villages of Pendomer and Chilthorne Domer in Somerset are so named because their manors were held by members of the Dummer family in the medieval period. History: Richard Dummer, father of master colonial silversmith and magistrate Jeremiah Dummer (1645–1718), is said to have been a native of Bishopstoke, England, who settled at Newbury, MA, and later at Boston, and in 1635–6 was one of the governor’s assistants.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Dummer in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Dummer had a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In the year 2000, it ranked 18,870 in popularity and dropped slightly to 19,242 by the year 2010, representing a decline of nearly 2%. However, the count of people with this surname increased slightly over the same period from 1,340 to 1,409, a rise of about 5.15%. Despite this increase, the proportion per 100,000 people decreased by 4%, indicating that the overall growth of the population outpaced the growth of people with the Dummer surname.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #18,870 | #19,242 | -1.97% |
| Count | 1,340 | 1,409 | 5.15% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.5 | 0.48 | -4% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dummer
In terms of ethnicity, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the Dummer surname is predominantly associated with individuals of White ethnicity, with 96.27% in 2000 and slightly less at 95.88% in 2010. Other ethnic identities associated with this surname include Hispanic and American Indian and Alaskan Native, which saw a slight decrease over the decade, from 0.90% to 0.85% and from 1.12% to 0.92% respectively. The data showed no association with Asian/Pacific Islander or Black ethnicities in either census year. Interestingly, the number of people identifying as having two or more races appeared in the 2010 census, making up 1.21% of those with the Dummer surname.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 96.27% | 95.88% | -0.41% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 1.21% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.12% | 0.92% | -17.86% |
| Hispanic | 0.9% | 0.85% | -5.56% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Black | 0.9% | 0% | 0% |