Norman is both a surname and a given name. The surname has multiple origins including English, Irish (in Ulster), Scottish, German, French, Norwegian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Jewish American. The given name Norman is mostly of English origin, though in some cases it can be an Anglicised form of a Scottish Gaelic personal name.

Etymology

Surname

There are several different origins of the surname Norman.

Given name

Norman as a given name is of mostly English origin. It is a Germanic name and is composed of the elements nord ("north") + man ("man"). The name can be found in England before the Norman Invasion of 1066, but gained popularity by its use by Norman settlers in England after the invasion. In Norway, the demonym of its people in Norwegian are Nordmann (pronounce Normann), and has the exactly same meaning as the name origin of the Normans. In the Scottish Highlands, Norman is sometimes used as an Anglicised form of the Norwegian and Scottish Gaelic Tormod (derived from the Norse Þórmóðr). A pet form of the Scottish given name is Norrie. There are several Scottish feminine forms of the given name Norman. These include: Normanna, Normina, Norma, Nora, and Mona. In England, the use of Norman as a given name is dying out. For example, in 2005 only two newborn boys were given the name; one in Shropshire and another in Tyne and Wear.

Distribution

England, Wales and the Isle of Man

Norman is ranked as the 273rd most common surname in the 1999–2001 National Health Service Central Register of England, Wales and the Isle of Man (the register utilises birth and death registers from 1999 to 2001).

Ireland

The surname Norman is of English origin, having arrived in the province of Ulster in the 17th century during the plantation era (See Plantation of Ulster and Plantations of Ireland). The surname is most common in Dublin, Belfast and Cork. Below is a table of Norman households recorded in the Primary Valuation (Griffith's valuation) property survey of 1848–64.

United States

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People

Surname

Given name

Fictional characters

Notes and references