Mann
An old surname that likely began as a personal name based on the ancient word for “man,” and in some cases may also reflect the sense “servant” or “vassal.”
The #378 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,697 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is closely tied to the very old Germanic word for “man,” which also carried senses such as “person,” “male,” and in some contexts “servant” or “vassal.” Medieval scholars also linked it to the mythic name Mannus, which appears in Tacitus as an ancestral figure of the Germanic peoples. In practice, Mann was probably used first as a personal name or byname, and only later fixed as a hereditary surname.
History
The name appears very early in English records and is old enough to have been discussed by early surname scholars as a name of great antiquity. Because the underlying word was so common, the surname could arise independently in more than one place. It has remained common in English-speaking countries and also occurs in Germanic contexts more broadly.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century writers sometimes traced Mann all the way back to Mannus, the legendary ancestor of the Germanic race mentioned by Tacitus.
From the historical record
“+ mann\ MAN "I (Eng.) Vassal, Servant ; Hero MANN/ [O.E. »2a«B, man, vassal, hero] This name is found in the Liber Vitae (gth cent, ff.), and in early times was doubtless often used as an heroic appella- tion : later the notion of vassalage or ser- vice was more fully developed. Previously to paying the iwergild…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)