Wightman
A surname meaning “man associated with Wight,” or possibly a nickname built from the older word wight meaning a person.
The #9,927 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,940 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as Wight + man, where Wight can point to the Isle of Wight or to the older English word wight, meaning a person or creature. In that sense, the name may have started as either a place-based label or a descriptive nickname. The historical sources also show some overlap with Whiteman, so the old spellings and pronunciations can be tricky.
History
19th- and early-20th-century surname writers linked Wightman both to the Isle of Wight and to the older English word wight. It appears in medieval English records and later remained established in Britain, with spelling variation between Wightman and Whiteman in some traditions. In modern use it is relatively uncommon but well enough established to survive as a distinct surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname books treated Wightman as close enough to Whiteman that they cross-referenced the two.
From the historical record
“creature] WIGHTMAN = Wight (q.v.) -f man. WIGHTWICK (Eng.) Bel. to Wightwick, the A.-Sax. *Wihtan-wic = Wihta's Wick [Wihtan-, genit of Wihta : v. Wight' + O.E. wic: V. Wick] WIGINTON, v. Wigginton.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)