Norman (name)

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Norman is a both surname and a given name. The surname has multiple origins including English, Irish (in Ulster), Scottish and Dutch, Swedish and Ashkenazi Jewsish and Jewish American. The given name Norman is mostly of English origin, though in some cases it can be a Anglicised form of a Scottish Gaelic personal name.

Contents 1 Etymology 1.1 Surname 1.2 Given name 2 Distribution 2.1 England, Wales and the Isle of Man 2.2 Ireland (including the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) 2.3 United States of America 3 Use of the surname and given name 3.1 Surname 3.2 Given name 3.3 Fictional people with the name Norman 4 Notes and references

[edit] Etymology

[edit] Surname

There are several different origins of the surname Norman.^[1]

1. As a surname of English, Irish (in Ulster), Scottish and Dutch origin the name was used to denote someone of Scandinavian ancestry or someone from Normandy (northern France). During the Dark Ages Scandinavian Vikings called themselves norðmenn ("men from the North"). By 1066 Scandinavian settlers in England had been absorbed and Northman and Norman were used as bynames and later as personal names by both English and English of Scandinavian descent. After the Norman Invasion of England in 1066, the name Norman took on a new meaning as England was invaded by Normans from Normandy (in northern France).^[1]
2. As a surname of French origin the name is a regional name denoting someone from Normandy.^[1]
3. As a surname of Dutch origin the surname is an ethnic name for someone of Norwegian descent.^[1]
4. As a surname of Jewish (Ashkenazic) origin the surname is a variant of Nordman.^[1]
5. As a surname of Jewish (American) origin the surname is an Americanization of a similar sounding Ashkenazic name. In at least one case Norman is used as an Americanization of Novominsky which is a name of a family originating in Uman, Ukraine. This family on coming to the United States of America changed their name to Norman and relatives in Russia likwise changed their name's from Novominsky to Norman.^[1]
6. As a surname of Swedish origin the name is derived the two elements: norr (north) + man ("man").^[1]

[edit] Given name

Norman as a given name is of mostly English origin. It is a Germanic name and is composed of the elements nord ("north") + man ("man"). The name can been found in England before the Norman Invasion of 1066, but gained popularity by its use by Norman settlers in England after the invasion. In the Scottish Highlands Norman is sometimes used as an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic Tormod. A pet form of the Scottish given name is Norrie.^[1]

There are several Scottish feminine forms of the given name Norman. These include: Normanna, Normina, Norma, Nora, and Mona.^[1]

[edit] Distribution

[edit] England, Wales and the Isle of Man

Norman is ranked as the 273rd most common surname in the 1999-2001 National Health Service Central Register of England, Wales and the Isle of Man (the register utilises birth and death registers from 1999-2001).^[2]

[edit] Ireland (including the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland)

The surname Norman is of English origin, having arrived in Ulster in the 17th century during the plantation era (See Plantation of Ulster and Plantations of Ireland). The surname is most comon in Dublin, Belfast and Cork.^[3] Below is a table of Norman households recorded in the Primary Valuation (Griffith's valuation) property survey of 1848-64.^[3]

# of Norman households per county, 1848-64
County	#	County	#
Armagh	1	Cork	10
Cork city	1	Donegal	7
Dublin	7	Dublin city	9
Kerry	2	Kildare	6
Laois	2	Limerick	5
Limerick city	2	Louth	3
Roscommon	1	Sligo	1
Tipperary	2	Westmeath	3

[edit] United States of America

• Surname: In the 1990 Census Norman is ranked as the 396th most frequent surname.^[4][5] By the 2000 Census the surname was ranked at 461th most frequent surname.^[6][7] The table below shows the statistics for the surname Norman in the 2000 Census See footnote for description of the header.^[8]

name	rank	count	prop100k	cum_prop100k	pctwhite	pctblack	pctapi	pctaian	pct2prace	pcthispanic
NORMAN	461	65269	24.2	31690.75	71.58	24.13	0.42	0.61	1.71	1.54

• Given name: Norman is ranked as the 113th most frequent male given name in the 1990 Census.^[4][9]

[edit] Use of the surname and given name

[edit] Surname

• Archie Norman (b. 1954), a British politician and businessman
• Barry Norman (b. 1933), a British film critic
• Bebo Norman (b. 1973), contemporary Christian musician
• Charlie Norman (1920-2005), a Swedish musician and entertainer
• Donald Norman, a professor and usability consultant
• Greg Norman (b. 1955), an Australian professional golfer
• Jessye Norman (b. 1945), an American opera singer and recitalist
• John Norman (b. 1931), an American author and college professor
• Magnus Norman (b. 1976), a Swedish professional tennis player
• Marsha Norman (b. 1947), an American playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner
• Max Magnus Norman (b. 1973), a Swedish contemporary artist
• Moe Norman (1929-2004), a Canadian professional golfer
• Monty Norman (b. 1928), a British singer and film composer
• Nigel Norman (1897–1943), Baronet, RAF officer and businessman
• Remington Norman (b. 1944), wine expert and author.
• Robert Norman, a 16th century British mariner, compass builder, and hydrographer
• Victor D. Norman (b. 1946), a Norwegian economist, politician and newspaper columnist

[edit] Given name

• Norman Borlaug (b. 1914), an American Agricultural Scientist, Humanitaran and Nobel Laureate
• Norman Carlberg (b. 1928), an American sculptor
• Norman Lear (b. 1922), American television producer
• Norman Mailer (b. 1923), American writer
• Norman Reedus (b. 1969), an actor and former model
• Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), an American painter
• Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., (1934-), United States Army general, leader of coalition forces in 1991 Gulf War
• Norman Tate (b. 1942), American long and triple jumper
• Norman D. Vaughan, (1905-2005), An American dogsled driver and explorer whose first claim to fame was participating in Admiral Byrd's first expedition to the South Pole.
• Norman Wisdom, an English comedian, singer and actor.

[edit] Fictional people with the name Norman

• Norman Bates, a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch
• Norman, Petalburg City Gym Leader in the video games Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald and works based on them
• Norm Peterson, a regular character on the television show Cheers and guest character on several others, portrayed by actor George Wendt

[edit] Notes and references