Jackman
Originally an occupational surname for a man associated with a jack, especially a soldier’s protective coat or leather jerkin.
The #4,587 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,900 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually explained from Middle English jack, meaning a kind of stout leather coat or light coat of mail worn by soldiers, plus -man. In that sense, Jackman would have meant a man who made, wore, sold, or was otherwise connected with such a garment. Older surname books also connect it with the personal name Jack, but the occupational explanation is the one explicitly given in the historical sources here.
History
The surname is recorded in England by the medieval and early modern period and later spread through Britain and overseas. It has been treated in surname dictionaries as a fairly ordinary occupational formation, not as a clan name or noble title. In modern English-speaking countries it is uncommon but well established.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The word jack once referred not to a person, but to a piece of armor or protective clothing, which is why the surname sounds so much like a first name.
From the historical record
“JACKMAN". A jack was a coat of mail, or rather a stout leather jerkin -worii by soldiers, whence our diminutive, jaclict. The wearer of such a garnieut would natu- rally be called a Jackmau. JACKS. The genitive form of Jack, JACKSON. The son of John, or more proijerly of James (Jacques). See Jack. The Loud. Direct…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Jackman
- Hugh Jackman (b. 1968)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.