Stockman
Likely an English occupational surname meaning “the man connected with the stock” or “stock-keeper,” though some sources treat it as uncertain.
The #5,583 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,590 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most 19th-century surname dictionaries explain Stockman as built from Middle English stock, meaning a post, tree trunk, log, or stock, plus man. In that sense it could have referred to someone associated with a stock, such as a stock-keeper or a person living by a marked stock or boundary feature. Some older writers, however, were less certain and suggested it may be related to another name such as Stocker.
History
The name is recorded in England by the early 17th century in the excerpts provided, and it appears in both English and American surname lists. It is not among the most common British surnames, but it has survived and spread in modest numbers, including in the United States. The form may also have been reinforced by the more familiar surname pattern of occupational names ending in -man.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A few old surname books group Stockman with other names built on everyday objects or features, like Bridge/Bridgman and Stone/Stoneman.
From the historical record
“Cp. Stokeley. STOCKMAN (Eng.) = Stock (q.y.) -f- man. STOCKPORT (Eng.) Bel. to Stockport (Chesh.), 13th cent. Stokport, Stockeport, i2th cent. Stokeport [O.E. stoc(c, a log, beam, post, etc. -1- O.E. port, a town, by extension from port (Lat. porta), a (city) g*te1 See Stopfopd.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)