Rugman Family History

From the Middle English personal names Rudge and Rodge (pet forms of Roger: see Rudge (3)), the suffix -man probably signifies ‘(man)servant of someone called Rudge or Rodge’. Compare Reginald Rogeresman Jarpenvyle 1324 in Patent Rolls (Surrey).

This name is also a variant of Ridgman; compare Rudge (1).

Additionally, it may derive from a late Middle English *rugge, meaning ‘rough woollen material, cloak, coverlet’, combined with -man, indicating someone who made or sold such items.

However, it should be noted that rug(ge) with these meanings is not on record before the 16th century.