Dickman
A surname most likely meaning either “man from the dyke” or a nickname-based form built on Dick.
The #5,930 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,150 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In the main English surname dictionaries, Dickman is explained as either a topographic name for someone who lived near a dyke or ditch, or as a nickname/occupational-style formation from Dick, with the element man added. Lower explicitly gives “from residence near a dyke” and adds that it may also mean a constructor of dykes, while Bardsley connects it with the same general class of workmen and notes a possible link to Dick as a personal name. The spelling may also have overlapped with similar forms such as Dyke-man and Ditchman.
History
The surname appears in English records by the late 16th century, with London examples cited in the historical dictionaries. It is not especially common, but it fits a larger English pattern of surnames built from a place-feature or a familiar given-name form plus -man. Some later bearers may reflect spelling variation or independent creation from related forms such as Ditchman or Dykeman.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley notes that in local speech, men of this type could be referred to as “Dickman” in ordinary conversation, which shows how flexible surname formation could be in everyday use.
From the historical record
“DICKISON. See Richard. DICKMAN. 1. From residence near a dyke, or possibly a constructor of dykes, locally called dicM. 2. The same as Dyke- man. DICKS. See Richard. DICKSEE. The same as Dixie. DICKSON. See Richard. DIDSBURY. A chapelry of Manchester.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom