Hartmann
A German surname meaning “hardy man” or “strong, bold man.”
The #3,286 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,068 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hartmann is built from Germanic hart, meaning “hard,” “strong,” or “brave,” plus man, “man.” The name was originally a personal name with the sense “hardy man” or “stalwart man,” and later became a hereditary surname. Older scholarship sometimes glosses it more freely as “a hard or severe man,” but the core idea is strength and toughness rather than cruelty.
History
The name appears very early in Germanic records as both a given name and later a family name. It is especially common in German-speaking areas and also spread into neighboring regions such as the Netherlands and parts of eastern France, where spellings like Hartman and Hertmann occur. Some medieval bearers of the name are better known as given-name holders, such as the poet Hartmann von Aue, which shows how old the personal-name form is.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname belongs to a very old Germanic naming pattern that also gave rise to English surnames like Hardman.
From the historical record
“HARSCOUET (1i.), Near wood. (v. By dale and Bykerk.) HARTMANN ((S-)? ffardy man. (v. Heilmann.) HARTOGVELT, van (?D.), of Duke's field. HASELFOOT (Qf.), Foot of the hazel-trees. Hazelrig, Hazel- ridge. HASS^i^A^n (IB.), Hazel-tree. In 1573, when Haarlem was besieged by the Spaniards, Kenau Simonsd. Hasselaer, — i.…”
— Surnames