Furman
Usually an occupational surname, probably originally for someone who made or sold fur goods or worked with fur.
The #3,820 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,295 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Furman is most plausibly an occupational surname built from Middle English fur, meaning a fur or fur garment, plus man, used in the broad sense of “worker” or “dealer.” In that reading, the name would have referred to a furrier, fur merchant, or someone associated with making or handling fur clothing. The form is straightforwardly English, though old surname collections sometimes record it only among occupational examples rather than as a fully glossed entry.
History
The surname is found in English-language records and later appears in America through ordinary surname transmission and migration. Because the historical source excerpt here mentions Furman only in a list of occupational names, the exact original trade sense is not spelled out there. In some cases, spelling overlap can also make it hard to separate this surname from other similar-sounding names in historical records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname lists often grouped Furman with names like Fuller, Glover, and Hosier, showing how many surnames began as everyday job titles.
From the historical record
“(" furbisher " ]), Fuller and Fullers, Forrester and Forrister, Falconer and Faulkner, Friar, Fyler and Filer, Furman, Glazier, Glover, Groyer ; Gardiner, Gardner, Guardenier; Goldsmith, Ga- GER, Gravier ("graver"'?), Hosier (1631), Hooper, Hearder, Jenner (i.e., "joiner"); Landman, Lan- MAN ("landsman")…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)