Hackman
A surname that likely began as an occupational name for someone who made or used a hack, or possibly tended hedges.
The #7,801 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 72,783 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Hackman is generally explained from the English word hack, a regional term for a pickaxe or mattock, and in some places also for a hedge. On that basis, older surname scholars took Hackman to mean either a maker or user of such tools, or someone connected with hedging and hedge work. The same root also appears in related surnames such as Hacker.
History
This is an English surname recorded in historical surname dictionaries and appears to have developed independently in several localities. It is less common than many other occupational surnames, and modern bearers are scattered rather than tied to one strongly dominant region. Older reference works also list related forms such as Hacker and Hatchman as nearby or confusable variants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname dictionary grouped Hackman with surnames built on the old word hack, showing how practical trade terms often became family names.
From the historical record
“shire. HACKMAN. Hack is a provincial word for a pick-axe or mattock, and also for a hedge ; hence Hackman and Hacker may imply either a maker of axes, or ajnender of hedges. HACKNEY. A parish in I\Hddlcsex. In H.R. the surname is written Hakeneie, Hakeneye, Hakenie, &c. HACKSTAFF. See under Shakspeare.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom