Osterman
A surname most likely built from the German word for “eastern man,” or from a similar place-based name.
The #9,919 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,824 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Osterman is best explained as a German-style surname formed from ost, meaning “east,” plus mann, meaning “man.” In that sense it would originally have referred to someone from the east, someone living in an eastern area, or a person associated with an eastern settlement or district. In some cases the name may also have been influenced by place-names or by parallel Scandinavian/German naming patterns.
History
The name is best known from Count Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann, a prominent statesman in imperial Russia, which helped give the surname historical visibility in Eastern Europe. Outside that context, it appears as a relatively uncommon surname in English-speaking countries. Its modern distribution is consistent with a Germanic origin and later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The best-known historical bearer was a powerful Russian grand chancellor under Peter the Great and his successors.
From the historical record
“stantiuoi)le to treat of peace, the Czar wishing to put an end to hostilities. This mission he under- took at the desire of Count Osterman, grand chancellor of Russia, and of Mr. Rondeau, British minister at the Russian court. Quitting St. Pe- tersburg, December 6, 1737, he arrived at Coii- stantiuople ivith only…”
— The Scottish Nation; or, the surnames, families ... of the people of Scotland, vol. 1