When Ralph Trimmer was born on 21 August 1895, in Hamilton Township, Adams, Pennsylvania, United States, his father, Jonas Gates Trimmer, was 23 and his mother, Barbara Elvira Shive, was 24. He died in 1896, at the age of 1.
English (mainly Hampshire):
occupational name from Middle English trimmer, a derivative of the verb trimmen (Old English trymman) which had multiple meanings, including ‘to strengthen, confirm, make ready’. The modern sense ‘to cut, trim’ is not attested in Middle English literature, but it is possible that the surname was for someone who cut something, perhaps cloth.
perhaps occasionally from the Middle English personal name Triamor, of uncertain origin but found as the name of an Egyptian ruler in Alexandria in the medieval romance Guy of Warwick. It remained in use for many years in a Baldwin family from the Hertfordshire area.
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