Hamman
An English surname that is usually a patronymic form meaning “son of Hamon” or “son of Hamo.”
The #7,324 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 67,782 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English records, Hamman is generally explained as a patronymic built from the medieval personal name Hamon or Hamo, with the ending -man used in the sense of “son of” or “man belonging to.” The deeper root of Hamon is usually traced to continental Germanic naming traditions, though the exact pathway can vary by family line. In German, Hamman can also be a surname shaped by the personal name Hamma or by comparable short forms built on Hamo/Hamm- names.
History
The surname appears in medieval and later English records, especially in the south and east of England, where Norman and post-Norman personal names were widely used as the basis for surnames. It is also found in German-speaking areas, where similar-looking forms may have independent origins. Because the spelling is straightforward and not very common, separate family lines may not all share the same ancestry.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often grouped Hamman with a cluster of Ham- names that likely began as nicknames or shortened personal names before becoming hereditary surnames.
From the historical record
“a, a, 1. Hamman, Hammand.— Bapt * the son of Hamon ' ; v. Hammon. London, i. o ; MDB. (co. CambridgeX o, I ; Oxford, i, o.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)