Coleman
An old English and Irish surname that can mean either “charcoal burner” or descend from the personal name Colman.
The #107 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,409 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In England, Coleman was often treated as a surname from the occupational word for a charcoal burner or coal worker, built on coal plus man. Some early sources also connect it with the old personal name Colman, a Latinized form of an older Germanic or Gaelic saint’s name. In Irish usage, it is commonly associated with the Gaelic name Ó Colmáin, ultimately from Colmán, a diminutive of colm, meaning “dove.”
History
The surname is recorded early in medieval England, including forms in Domesday-era material and later medieval rolls. In Ireland, it became established through native Gaelic naming and later anglicization, so the same modern spelling can reflect different origins. Because of that, Coleman is one of those surnames that may look straightforward but can have several historical sources depending on the family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers debated whether some early Colemans were called after an occupation, a baptismal name, or even a helmet-related word in Old English.
From the historical record
“Coldbeche. COLEMAN".* See also O' Coleman. COLEPEPPER. See Culpeper. COLLAR, See Coller and Collard. COLVILE. See Colvllle. CO^klBER.* This family are numerous and ancient in Sussex, though now extinct in the degree of gentry. The Combers of Shermanbury, in that county, claimed des-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom