Frequency: (171)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Perhaps a metathesized spelling of German Rehm: 1. nickname for a brawny man, from Middle High German rem ‘pillar’, ‘post’, ‘frame’, a topographic name from the same word, or a habitational name from places named Rehm, Rehme, or Rehmen. 2. metonymic occupational name for a strap maker, from Middle Low German reme ‘strap’.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
