Kuhlman
A surname from German or Dutch roots meaning “cool man,” likely a nickname or descriptive name.
The #5,705 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,797 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kuhlman is generally understood as a compound of German or Dutch kuehl/kool, meaning “cool” or “cold,” and man, “man.” In this older surname tradition, the name would originally have described a person thought of as calm, cool-headed, or literally “the cool man.” The 19th-century source excerpt explicitly glosses it as “cool man,” which fits this interpretation.
History
The name is found in North American records among families of Germanic background, where the spelling was often simplified to Kuhlman or Kuhlmann. In English-language surname collections it appears alongside other descriptive names built from physical or character traits. Modern bearers in the United States likely descend from several unrelated immigrant lines rather than one single family.
Origin
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Fun fact
The old source that lists Kuhlman groups it with surnames like Fogg, Frost, Snow, and Fairweather—names all taken to suggest a person’s temperament or a weather-related quality.
From the historical record
“Hase, Haase, Dew, Dewey, Dewson, Fogg, Leake, Whetter, Wetmore, Philbrook ; also Bath, Colbath, KuHLMAN (" cool man " ]), McCool, Dowse, Dowsing, Swab, Swabb, Washer, Lavin, Lavy% Fries, Freese, Freeze (L. 673, f. 157), Defriez, Chilley, Knipping, Frost, Snow, Snowman, Flake (L. 189, f 257), LoAVRY, Bleakley, aud…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)