The surname Palmer is an anglo-french descriptive nickname.

It comes from the tenth century old french word "palmer" or "paumier" meaning a person who has made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Normally, such travellers brought back a palm branch as proof that they had actually made the journey. From the time of the Crusades in the 12th century onwards, such trips were made in increasing numbers, sometimes under the protection of the Knights Templar.

The surname arrived in Ireland in the thirteenth century, and was gaelicised as Pámar.

According to Woulfe (Irish names and surnames (1923)) it is also an anglicised version of the Irish name Ó Maolfhóghmhair, meaning chief of the harvest.