Goodman Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Goodman last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Goodman last name
Meaning of the Goodman last name: good man, or head of a household. Goodman comes from the Middle English words for "good" and "man". It could be a nickname for a kind or honest person, or a title for the master of a household, as in goodman and goodwife. The name is common in East Anglia and the Midlands. A curious detail: in America it also absorbed the German Gutmann, and the jazz clarinettist Benny Goodman became known as the King of Swing.
Arms associated with the Goodman name
In England, gold stood for generosity and silver for peace, and arms used by Goodman families speak that old language of colour.
Get your full Goodman family history
This is only a glimpse of the Goodman story. The full Goodman history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Goodman coat of arms. Get the full Goodman report.
Goodman name FAQ
What does the Goodman name mean?
Good man, or head of a household. Common variants include Goodmann, Gutmann, Goodeman.
Where does the Goodman surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Ireland.
Is there a Goodman coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Goodman coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.