Chatman
An American surname most likely shortened or altered from Chapman, with an occasional folk association to “cat” noted in old sources.
The #2,355 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,954 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most evidence points to Chatman as an American spelling variant of Chapman, the English occupational surname for a merchant or trader. The older sources also show a folk guess linking it to “cat,” but that looks secondary and speculative rather than the true origin. In other words, the name is best understood as a spelling and sound shift from Chapman rather than a separate surname with a different root.
History
Nineteenth-century American surname lists record Chatman alongside forms like Chattaway and Chatten, suggesting local spelling variation in the United States. Bardsley specifically treats it as an American variant of Chapman. The name remains much less common than Chapman, but it has persisted in U.S. records into the modern era.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One old reference jokingly glosses Chatman as “man of cats,” showing how easily surnames could be reimagined by folk etymology.
From the historical record
“London, 8, 1 ; New York. 3, i. Chatman. — Occup. 'the chap- man'(q,v.). An American varianL New York, 4 ; Bo«on (U.S.), 1. Chattaway.— Local. ' of Chad-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances