Surname Bulmer - Meaning and Origin
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Bulmer: What does the surname Bulmer mean?
The surname Bulmer is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from place names in North Yorkshire and Essex, England. It's believed to have two possible meanings. The first interpretation suggests that Bulmer means "over the marsh" in Old English, derived from the words "bull" (meaning a bull) and "mere" (meaning a marsh, lake or body of water). The second interpretation connects the name to a place named after Saint Bega, which got corrupted over seasons into Bulmer.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Builmer in the records of the Templars (Knights Templar) in the county of Essex in 1185. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. Today, the name Bulmer is strongly associated with the Bulmer Family who were known as cider makers in Herefordshire in the late 19th and 20th century.
Order DNA origin analysisBulmer: Where does the name Bulmer come from?
The surname Bulmer is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from a place name. It traces back to a village named Bulmer, located near North Yorkshire, England. The name Bulmer means “Bull’s mere or lake”, with ‘bull’ referring to either the animal or a person's name, and ‘mere’ meaning a lake or pool.
The surname started to be used following the Norman Conquest of 1066, when people adopted fixed surnames for taxation purposes. The Bulmer family held a family seat in Wilton Castle, North Yorkshire, for several centuries.
The Bulmer surname is not extremely common today, but it is most frequently found in England, particularly in the areas of Yorkshire and the northeast. According to Forebears, a surname distribution database, as of 2014, the Bulmer surname was ranked as the 15,564th most common surname in the world, with the highest number of individuals with the Bulmer surname residing in England followed by Australia and Canada. The name has also been carried to various parts of the world due to migration. Other variants of the surname include Bullmer and Bulimore.
Variations of the surname Bulmer
The surname Bulmer is of English origin, deriving from a place name in North Yorkshire. It's believed to mean "bull lake" in Old English. As with many older surnames, it can be spelled several different ways due to centuries of oral record-keeping before spelling was standardized. Variations include Bullmer, Bullimore, Bullamore, Bollmer, Boulmer, Bolemer, and Boolmer.
These derivatives stem from changes in pronunciation and spelling over time and vary between different regions. Some alternative spellings, like Bullimer, Bullmer, and Bulimore, are relatively uncommon but can still be found.
People with these different variants of the surname can typically trace their lineage back to the same geographic area in northeast England. There are indications that some families with these surnames migrated to other parts of the UK, or abroad - particularly to the United States and Australia - yet primarily retain their English roots.
It is also worth noting that surnames can often be transformed and localised to different languages, so a variation of the Bulmer name may exist in other languages, yet keeping the same or similar pronunciation.
Famous people with the name Bulmer
- Eric Bulmer: He is a former player in the National Football League.
- Henry Percy Bulmer: He was one of the founders of H. P. Bulmer, a cider-making company in Hereford, England.
- James Bulmer: He is recognized in the typography industry for his impressive contributions to type design.
- John Bulmer: An English photographer and filmmaker, known for his imaginative use of color in photojournalism.
- Mike Bulmer: He was a statistician and genetics scholar at the University of North Carolina.
- Nick Bulmer: He is a business executive known as the CEO of insurance company, The Yorkshire.
- Paul Bulmer: An award-winning producer and director of documentary films.
- Pete Bulmer: He is a reputable footballer who used to play for York City F.C.
- Steve Bulmer: He is Australia’s system and process safety leader and also directed the safe production program at CSBP.
- Thomas Bulmer: A former professional rugby league football player.
- William Charles Bulmer: An eminent English printer and typographer.
- Fred Bulmer: A British politician, Son of Hereford Cider magnate founder H.P Bulmer.