Carmen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Carmen is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a name for a person who was known as the carman, or one who rented or let out vehicles. Often carmen were known as hostilers.

Early Origins of the Carmen family

The surname Carmen was first found in Cumberland in the lands of Carman where they held a family seat from very ancient times before 1100 A.D.

Early History of the Carmen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carmen research. Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1086 and 1300 are included under the topic Early Carmen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carmen Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Carman, Carmen, Carmine, Carmyn and others.

Early Notables of the Carmen family

More information is included under the topic Early Carmen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carmen Ranking

In the United States, the name Carmen is the 10,119^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Carmen migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Carmen or a variant listed above were:

Carmen Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mr. Henery Carmen, aged 23, who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "Duties" in 1620 2

Carmen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Maria Del Carmen, aged 37, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1849 3

Carmen migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Carmen Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

David Carmen, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
Mr. Michael Carmen Sr., U.E. (b. 1708) born in Kahl, Germany who settled in Matilda, Dundas County, Ontario c. 1783 he married Magdalena Walter in 1740 they had 2 children, he died in 1790 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Carmen (post 1700) +

Eric Howard Carmen (1949-2024), American singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist, lead vocalist of the Raspberries, perhaps best known for his solo career hits "All by Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It", "Hungry Eyes", and "Make Me Lose Control"
Gerald P. Carmen, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New Hampshire, 1964 5
Deborah Carmen Mash (b. 1952), American professor of neurology, and molecular and cellular pharmacology at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Ana Carmen Macri (1916-2022), Argentine politician who was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1951 as one of the first group of female parliamentarians in Argentina
Yvette Carmen Mimieux (1942-2022), American three-time Golden Globe Award nominated television and film actress, best for her breakout role in film The Time Machine (1960)
Dominic Carmen Frontiere (1931-2017), American composer, arranger, and jazz accordionist, known for composing the theme music for The Outer Limits, The Rat Patrol, Branded, The Flying Nun, and many more
Niusha Carmen Mancilla Heredia (b. 1971), Bolivian former middle and long-distance runner who won three gold medals, five silver medals and four bronze medals
Nicholas Carmen Dattilo (b. 1932), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (1990 to 2004)
Margarita Carmen Cansino (1918-1987), birth name of Rita Hayworth, American film actress and dancer
Michael Carmen Pitt (b. 1981), American actor

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html