Fun Facts About the Name Hamlin
- 63 babies named Hamlin: U.S. records list 63 babies given the name Hamlin from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Hamlin Mean?
Hamlin is an English surname and given name. It comes from the Norman personal name Hamelin, a diminutive form of Hamo (also Haimo). Hamo is a short form of Germanic names beginning with haim, meaning "home." With the diminutive suffix -elin, the name is often glossed as "little home" or "little Hamo." The underlying root is Germanic; the name reached England through Norman French after the Norman Conquest. A competing explanation treats some instances of the surname as habitational, from a place called Hamelin in Normandy, but the personal-name derivation is the one most commonly given. The German town of Hameln, called Hamelin in French and in the Pied Piper story, is not the source of the English name.
Hamlin Name History & Origins
The Norman personal name Hamelin was brought to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It appears in medieval English records, and from it the hereditary surname Hamlin developed. By the later Middle Ages the surname was established in England; it is especially associated with Devon and neighboring counties in the southwest. The surname also traveled with English colonists to North America. Some families may derive the surname from the Norman place-name Hamelin rather than from the personal name, but the two origins are difficult to separate in early records.
As a given name, Hamlin is a transferred use of the surname. It is not a traditional English first name in the way Hamo or Hamelin were. In the United States, the name is associated with Hannibal Hamlin (1809 - 1891), Vice President under Abraham Lincoln; the writer Hamlin Garland (1860 - 1940) was born Hannibal Hamlin Garland, named for the vice president, and used Hamlin as his first name. Robert Browning's poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1842) made the place-name Hamelin widely familiar, but that Hamelin is the German town of Hameln and has no bearing on the origin of the personal name.
How Popular is the Name Hamlin?
Hamlin has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1916. Its best rank was #3,030 in 1916.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | #4,218 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1937 | #3,743 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #3,990 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1931 | #3,553 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1928 | #4,386 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1925 | #3,921 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #4,039 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,423 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1917 | #3,369 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1916 | #3,030 | 8 | 0.0009% |
| 1915 | #4,067 | 5 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with H
How the Name Hamlin Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You attract success and money. You are a lover of nature and do not need others for your happiness. You are self sufficient. You strive for material success and power and have business sense. You possess strong organizational abilities, can be a good manager, and executive by nature. You are capable of great achievement in business and finance. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Hamlin's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Hamlin's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.