Redman
Usually an English surname meaning “red man,” though some early forms may also reflect a place-name or a confusion with Redmond.
The #2,770 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,699 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The most direct explanation is Old English rēad ‘red’ + man, giving a byname for someone with red hair, a ruddy complexion, or some other “red” association. A second possibility mentioned by older surname writers is connection with an Old English counsel-name element, though the clearest and best-known explanation is the descriptive one. Some records may also show confusion with the Irish surname Redmond, and a few local examples were linked to Redmain in Cumberland.
History
The name is recorded in medieval and later English sources, and it remained in use as a hereditary surname into modern times. Nineteenth-century surname scholars also noted occasional confusion between Redman and Redmond, especially in records where spellings were fluid. In some cases the name may be local rather than descriptive, but that is usually treated as secondary to the ordinary “red man” interpretation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books explicitly compare Redman with surnames like Blackman, showing how common color-based nicknames were in medieval England.
From the historical record
“Roger de Redlee. — Himd. Rolls. REDMAN (Eng.) Red Man [O.E. riad, red + man\ Cp. Blackman. 2 the A.-Sax Rdbdman — CbUNCiL-MAN [O.E. rAd, council, counsel + man\ 3 Horseman [O.E. rdideman(^n\ There has been confusion with Red-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)