Kilmer
Below 5 births
Below 5 births
About Kilmer
Kilmer is best known as a surname — as in actor Val Kilmer — but actors Bethany C. Meyers and Nico Tortorella recently used it for their daughter Kilmer Dove, making it a viable first name.
Kilmer for boys
Kilmer is derived from the Germanic form of Gilmer, which evolved from personal names including Gildemir, Gilmar, Gisel, and Gisela.
Kilmer for girls
The German surname Kilmer is derived from Gilmer, which itself originated from various German given names. These personal names include Gildemir and Gilmar, meaning "famous sacrifice", along with Gisel and Gisela, which derive from the German element gīsil, meaning "pledge", "hostage", or "noble offspring".
That meaning may seem odd, but in ancient and medieval Germanic culture, the younger children of nobles were handed off to be raised by foreign or nearby rulers — this was considered a peace pledge between the two courts.
Actors Bethany C. Meyers and Nico Tortorella named their daughter Kilmer Dove — Kilmer is Meyers' mother's maiden name.
Pronounced KIL-mer.
As of October 2026, Kilmer ranked #8766 in US births in 1997 SSA, peaked at #3261 in 1919.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |