Zimmerman (surname)

Zimmerman
Origin
Region of origin Germany
Language(s) Germanic
Meaning Carpenter, room builder
Other names
Variant(s) Zimmermann, Zimerman, Zimmer, Simmerman, Timmerman, Carpenter, Carpentier, Charpentier

Zimmerman derives from the German last name Zimmermann, a related surname. The modern German terms for the occupation of carpenter are Zimmerer, Tischler, or Schreiner, but Zimmermann is still used.

Zimmer in German means "room" or archaically a chamber within a structure. The German man or mann (in English the extra n is ignored) means "man" or "worker". Combining the two German words, you get "a worker of wood", or, literally translated, "room man" or "room worker".[1][2][3]

Within the United States, it is ranked as the 441st-most common surname.[4]

German names were regularly Anglicized with immigration. Surnames were often translated, so in this case, Zimmerman would become Carpenter. Later generations also altered their original family names frequently after being in the United States many years.

Zimmerman may refer to:

People

Fictional characters

  • Lewis Zimmerman, creator of the Emergency Medical Hologram in the Star Trek series
  • Dr. Zimmerman, former employee of "the Company" in the Heroes series
  • Jára Cimrman, a Czech character of a universal genius

Places in the United States

See also

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau; "Frequently Occurring First Names and Surnames From the 1990 Census, (Table) Name Files dist.all.last"; published May 9, 1995; <"Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2006. >
  2. ↑ Combined from several sources including: Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 1996 by Barnes & Noble Books, and Concise Oxford Dictionary - 10th Edition by Oxford University Press.
  3. ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary by Douglas Harper, 2001-2010, accessed April 13, 2010.
  4. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau; "Frequently Occurring First Names and Surnames From the 1990 Census, (Table) Name Files dist.all.last"; published May 9, 1995; <"Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2006. >
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