Aylmer — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: de Aylmer
Meaning: from a Norman personal name meaning 'noble and famous'
Traditional stronghold: Kildare, Meath
Pronunciation: AYL-mer
History of the Aylmer name
The Aylmers were an Anglo-Norman family who settled in Kildare and Meath in the medieval period, becoming Barons of Balrath and holding land around Donadea for centuries. The name comes from the Old Germanic personal name Aethelmar, meaning roughly 'noble and famous', brought to England and then Ireland by Norman settlers. Unlike many Gaelic septs, the Aylmers remained a small, tightly landed gentry family rather than spreading widely, so the surname is relatively rare and still most associated with north Kildare.
Variants: Aylmar · Elmer · Aylemer
Famous bearers of the name
- Fenton Aylmer — British Army general awarded the Victoria Cross, from the Irish Aylmer family
- Rose Aylmer — Subject of a celebrated elegy by the poet Walter Savage Landor
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Kelly · Plunkett · Cusack · Dillon · Harte · Carolan · Bermingham · Behan