52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 10 - Translation

Example from the Hundred Rolls, land survey completed during the reign of Edward I, King of England 1272 - 1307

The surname Chapman is most frequently found in England and Wales, and the English speaking countries Australia, Canada and the USA. It's earliest use is found in census rolls from the 13th and 14th centuries. The name derives from two Old English words - cēapman, from cēap trade + man.

But where and when did surnames come from?

In Europe, surnames, also called family names, came into use in the later Middles Ages, roughly the 11th century. In England, surnames were introduced by the Normans after 1066 (remember The Battle of Hastings from high school history class, when William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harald Godwinson?). By 1400, most English families were using hereditary surnames. Wives took their husband's name upon marriage, and King Henry VII ordered that children's names be recorded under their father's name.

English family names reflect the multitude of influences in the English language, including Viking, Scandinavian, Celtic, French and German roots.

Family name origins

• Nicknames or diminutives - Harry or Harris from the name Henry

• Descriptive nickname - Biggs, Little, Cruickshank (a Scottish name meaning 'crooked leg')

• Occupations - Archer, Clark, Clerk, Cooper, Carpenter, Smith

• Place names - Wallace (a person from Wales), Fields, Brooks, Woods, Lee (from Old English lea, meadow)

• Patronymic (ie 'son of') - Richardson, Wilson

  • English/Norman - use of prefix Fitz: Fitzgerald

  • Scottish - prefix Mac or Mc: MacGregor

  • Irish - prefix O, Mc, or Mac: O'Brien, McGreal

• Religious - Jones (from the name John, "God is gracious"), Kirby/Kirk (from the Old Norse kirkja 'church')

So Chapman is an occupational name, from the word meaning a merchant, trader, dealer; also a peddler or hawker. The Old English root word, cēap, meaning trade, is also the source of the modern word cheap. The sense (and spelling) of the word cēap evolved over time to mean inexpensive by the 16th century. The word also was used in Old English for "market" (as in ceapdæg "market day"), a sense surviving in place names Cheapside and East Cheap.

Frank Chapman 1872-1948

Most of my Chapman ancestors were farmers (for those I've found occupations listed) but my great grandfather, Frank Chapman, was a milk dealer during the early 1900s. I think that makes him a cēapman.