Pittman
Usually a surname for someone associated with a pit, hollow, or well—though some early sources also treated it as a variant of Pitt.
The #619 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,611 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is generally explained as a topographic name built on Middle English/Old English pit, meaning a pit, hollow, or excavation, plus man, in the sense of “person associated with” a place. One 19th-century source specifically glosses it as a man living near a well or spring, connecting it with pit/put in older northern forms. Another major source, however, treats Pittman as a variant form related to Pitt, so the name may have multiple strands in practice.
History
Records show the name in England by at least the late 13th century, with early spellings such as Piteman. It appears in several county and parish contexts in southern England, and later turned up in London and other urban records. In modern usage it is established in England and especially familiar in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An early record cited by Bardsley places a John Piteman in Bedfordshire in 1273, showing the surname was already established in medieval England.
From the historical record
“Ivars. of Pettet, Pettit, q.v. PITTMAN = Pitman, q.v. Pitts 82 Piatt”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)