Alderman
A surname from an old civic title for a senior local official, sometimes also inherited from the title as a personal name.
The #3,528 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 30,511 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name comes from the Old English title ealdorman, literally 'old man' or more exactly 'elder man,' used for a high-ranking noble or local ruler. In Middle English it survived as alderman, the title of a senior civic official. As Lower notes, the word could pass from a title into a baptismal or inherited family name.
History
Historical records show the surname very early in England, including medieval references to men styled 'le Alderman' as well as individuals already using Alderman as a fixed surname. The name later spread as a hereditary family name and also appears in Scotland and North America. Because the word was an official title, some early bearers may have been known by office rather than by descent.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is closely tied to a word that once meant a powerful local dignitary, not just the modern municipal office.
From the historical record
“ton — the ford, the dwelling, the home, the island, and the enclosure, of Aldred. ALDERMAN. ThcEolderman of Saxon times was a person of great distinction. In Domesd. Aldrcman occurs without a prefix, so that it appears to have become first a baptismal, and then a family name. ALDERSEY. An estate in co Chester…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom