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Norman Family History

Norman Name Meaning

English Irish (Dublin and Cork) and Scottish: ethnic or habitational name applied either to a Scandinavian or to someone from Normandy in northern France. The Scandinavian adventurers of the Dark Ages called themselves northmenn ‘men from the North’. Before 1066 Scandinavian settlers in England were already fairly readily absorbed and Northman and Normann came to be used as bynames and later as personal names even among the Saxon inhabitants. The term gained a new use from 1066 onward when England was settled by invaders from Normandy who were likewise of Scandinavian origin but by now largely integrated with the native population and speaking a Romance language retaining only their original ancient Germanic name. English: from the Middle English personal name Norman (recorded in the late Old English period as Northman) derived from northman ‘northerner’. Americanized form of German Normann . Altered form of French Normand . Dutch: variant mostly Americanized of Noorman a cognate of 1 above. Swedish: of German origin (see Normann ) or an ornamental name composed of the elements norr ‘north’ or nor ‘narrow stream between two waters’ + man ‘man’.7: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Nordman .8: Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname. In at least one case it is an Americanized form of Novominsky the name of a family from Uman in Ukraine.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Notman, Orman, Gorman, Dorman, German, Nordman, Osman, Forman

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Where is the Norman family from?

You can see how Norman families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Norman family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Norman families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 470 Norman families living in Ontario. This was about 37% of all the recorded Norman's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Norman families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Norman surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Norman ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Housekeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Norman. 35% of Norman men worked as a Farmer and 17% of Norman women worked as a Housekeeper. Some less common occupations for Americans named Norman were Carpenter and Teacher. .

View Census Data for Norman | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    35%
  • Labourer
    8%
  • Laborer
    6%
  • Carpenter
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Housekeeper
    17%
  • Operator
    10%
  • Farmer
    10%
  • Teacher
    10%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Norman family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 546,000 census records available for the last name Norman. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Norman census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 60,000 immigration records available for the last name Norman. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 71,000 military records available for the last name Norman. For the veterans among your Norman ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Norman lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Norman life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1941, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Norman in 1940 was 37, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Norman

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