Roman
A surname that usually means “from Rome” or “the Roman,” though in some cases it may reflect an older Germanic personal name.
The #452 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,234 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most commonly, Roman comes from the Latin Romanus, meaning “Roman” or “of Rome,” and was used for someone from the city of Rome or for someone associated with the Roman world. The name could also enter English through Old French as le Romayn, “the Roman.” Some historical scholarship has also connected it, less certainly, with a weak Germanic personal-name form related to Rodmund or Ruman.
History
In medieval records, the surname appears in forms such as le Romayn, showing its use as an ethnic or locational byname. It later became established as a hereditary surname in England and elsewhere. Because the same spelling can also reflect different naming traditions, not every modern Roman family shares the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same surname spelling can point either to ancestry from Rome or, in some cases, to a name that has been reinterpreted through similar-sounding continental forms.
From the historical record
“oSJ^aI^^ Lat. Roman-us] ROMAN J Reginald le Romayn. — Hund. Rolls, (Teut.) occ. confd. with weak forms of Rodmund, q.v.: cp. Rum(m)an (Teut.). ROMANS, (the) Roman's (Son) : v. Roman. ROME (A.-Fr.-Lat.) One from Rome [Fr. Rome, Lat. Roma]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)