Steadman
An occupational surname meaning “farmworker” or “the man of the stead,” from an old word for a farm or place.
The #4,645 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,401 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Steadman comes from Old English "stede" or "stede," meaning a place, site, or farmstead. The surname likely began as an occupational name for someone who worked on or managed a stead, in the sense of a farm or homestead. It is essentially "stead" + "man," and early spellings such as "Stedeman" appear in medieval records.
History
The surname is recorded in medieval England, with examples in 13th- and 14th-century documents. Nineteenth-century surname writers glossed it as the name of a farmer or possibly a farm bailiff, and later references treat Steadman as closely related to the base surname Stead. Variant spellings such as Stedman and Steedman reflect older pronunciation and spelling variation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley and Harrison both note that the name was already established in medieval records, including a 13th-century Richard Stedeman from Cambridgeshire.
From the historical record
“Cumberl. Gloss., p. 94. STEADMAN : v. under Stead, and -1- man. John le Stedman. — Pari. Writs, A.D. 1306. STEAL = Steel, q.v. STEAN(E (Teut.) i Bel. to Stean(e or Stene (Northants) =the Stone" (Rock, or Stone Castle) [O.E. stckn = O.N. steinn = Dut.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)