Norman
NOR-mən
A name that began as a label for a “northman” and became a classic English surname and given name.
Meaning
Norman comes from a word meaning “northman,” originally used for a person from the north, especially a Norse or Scandinavian settler. The excerpted sources also point to its Anglo-Norman English history, which helped spread it as a personal name in Britain. In later use it became established as a given name rather than just an ethnic label.
Origin
Old EnglishOld NorseAnglo-Normanmasculine
Fun fact
The name was first a descriptive term before it became a regular personal name.
Confidence: mixed. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.