Kalman Family History
Kalman Name Meaning
Hungarian (Kálmán): from the old Hungarian personal name Kálmán meaning ‘remainder’ (from Turkic kal ‘to remain’) hence a protective name which was given to infants to ward off evil and harmful spirits. In medieval times the name became particularly popular because it was confused with the German Christian name Koloman of Irish origin (see Kolman ). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish personal name Kalmen an everyday form of Kloynemes (from Hebrew Kalonimos which is from Greek kalos ‘lovely’ or kallos ‘beauty’ + onyma ‘name’). This Hebrew name is first recorded in the Talmud and has been used continuously since then. Among Hungarian Jews it was sometimes confused with 1 above.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022