Freedman
A surname originally given to a man who had been freed from slavery or servitude.
The #3,985 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,640 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Freedman is a transparent English surname built from "freed" + "man." In its plainest sense it meant a man who had been freed, especially one who had gained liberty after being a slave, serf, or dependent. The related Latin term "libertus" was used in classical sources for a freedman, and English usage later applied the same idea as a descriptive surname or status name.
History
The name could arise independently in more than one setting wherever someone was identified by freed status rather than by occupation or place. In English records, forms like Freedman overlap with similar surnames such as Freeman and Freeborn, which also point to personal status rather than trade. In some cases it may have been adopted or translated from equivalent German or Jewish surname forms meaning "freed man."
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often noted that immigrant names could be partly or fully translated into English, which is why forms like Freedman and the German-looking Friedemann sometimes appear alongside each other in old directories.
From the historical record
“Alan is represented by families of AIan, AIann, Freed, Freeman, Freeborn, Tasker, Freedman, A'^as- SALL, Slavin, Prentice, Prentiss, Bond, Ladd, Child, Page, Paige, &c. Boies is probably a " wood." Airs. BoYCOT subscribed for Aliss Jones's book ; as did also Air. Lads. The " Lives of the Scottish Poets " was…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)