Carman
Usually an occupational surname for a carter or carrier, though some early instances may also come from a place-name or older personal name.
The #3,198 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,318 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English records, Carman is most often explained as an occupational name for a man who drove or let out a cart, carriage, or other vehicle—essentially a carter or carrier. The word is linked to Middle English and Old French forms for “car” or “cart,” so the surname originally described the job rather than the person’s ancestry. Some 19th-century writers also suggested that a few examples may be locative or derive from an older personal name, so the history is not perfectly uniform.
History
The surname appears in medieval English records in several spellings, including forms close to Charer, Charman, and Carman. In later usage it remained a fairly transparent occupational surname, and it also spread as a given surname in Scotland and England. Because similar-looking forms can arise from different sources, not every family named Carman necessarily shares the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers regularly grouped Carman with other straightforward job-names like Carrier, Driver, and Stoker.
From the historical record
“Madlda CArmtn, co. Norf., ffid. Thomai Carman, koiliUr. 1379: P.T. 15S0. ChriMoplivr FUube and Elii. Cannan : Mairia^ Lie (LendonX I. 9<>.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances