Hickman
An English surname that most likely began as a medieval personal-name form, meaning “Hick’s man” or “son of Hick.”
The #838 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,501 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hickman is generally explained as an English surname built from Hick, a medieval pet form of Hugh or of Nicholas in some contexts, plus -man. In surname formation, -man often meant “servant of,” “follower of,” or simply “son of,” so the name could originally mean “Hick’s man.” Some 19th-century writers also treated it as a baptismal or patronymic surname derived from an old personal name rather than from a place-name.
History
The name appears in English records early enough to be associated with medieval bynames and family lines. Bardsley and Lower both treat it as a personal-name based surname, while Barber lists Hickman among names connected with the given name Hick. It later became established in several English counties and was carried onward through Britain and to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower notes an old Hickman line of Gainsborough, tracing the family back to a medieval Robert Fitz-Hickman.
From the historical record
“{3) Man, as an augmentive suifix in personal names or nicknames. Therefore such surnames as Goldman, Tiddiman, Bateman, Richman or Rjckman, Hardman, Speakman, Sweetman (commonly Swetman in the Hundred Rolls, 1273), Hickman Dyj.eo by t^OOg IC”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances