Selman
A surname with more than one possible origin, most likely from a medieval personal name ultimately linked to Solomon or a nickname form related to Seeley/Seliman.
The #7,831 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,024 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Selman has been explained in a few different ways by historical surname scholars. One common explanation treats it as a baptismal surname from a medieval form such as Seliman or Salman, ultimately pointing to Solomon. Another line of explanation connects it with an old nickname or personal-name form related to Seeley/Seliman, with the ending -man added in the usual medieval way. A weaker older suggestion linked it to words for a hall-keeper, but the historical dictionaries you provided lean away from that.
History
The name appears in English records from at least the late medieval and early modern period in forms such as Selman, Sellman, and Seliman. Nineteenth-century surname writers disagreed about its exact derivation, but the baptismal explanation was often favored. The name is established in Britain and later carried to North America, where it remains uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley explicitly rejected an older idea that Selman came from ‘sale, a hall,’ showing how often surname etymologies were debated in early scholarship.
From the historical record
“SELLMAN SELLMEN SELMAN 2 for the M.E. Seliman, Selyman: v. Seel(e)y, and + man. 3 conf. with Salman (through the prbn. Sal-), q.v. SELLS, pi., and genit., of Sell, q.v. There is a Selles in the Pas-de-Calais Dept. ; also one in the Eure Dept.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)