Misplaced Pages

Blackman

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
This article is about the surname. For the Michigan charter township, see Blackman Charter Township, Michigan. For the term for a member of the Royal Black Preceptory, see Royal Black Institution.
This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Blackman" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Blackman, Originally Blæcmann, is an Old English name meaning "dark-haired" or "dark-complexioned". The name was once given to Danish Vikings who settled in southern Scotland. It is also listed in the genealogy of the kings of Bernicia. Early on, it was commonly used as a first name. Variations: Blackmann, Blachman, Blackmun, Blackmon, Blakeman.

Depending on how the old Anglo-Saxon blaec or blac were translated, the surname could also have had the exact opposite meaning from the above. "Blaec" meant dark/swarthy while blac meant fair/pale. The spelling of both words and their meanings were often confused and, over time, became interchangeable.

In the United States at least, some eastern European immigrants in the early 20th century changed their surnames to "Blackman" as an Anglicisation of their original more conspicuously ethnic names, such as "Blechmann." .

Notable people

See also

References

Surname listThis page lists people with the surname Blackman.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link. Categories:
Blackman Add topic