Guttmann History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Guttmann was first found in various regions of the Germanic empire where the name Guttmann gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging mediaeval society. In 1251, a knight from Alsace was called Guotman "Bonus Vir" meaning "good man" in Latin. In Saxony and Silesia, Guttman was common as a knightly personal name. One such example was Sir Guthwin von Tristewitz, the name of a father and son who were recorded in 1285. The form Guttman, was preceded in that area by the form Gutwin, as can be seen from the from town called Guttmannsdorf, that was once called Gutwinsdorf. Early records from Liegnitz show a C. Gutwyn in 1381 and C. Guttman in 1547. The Low German form of the surname is Gutermann, and records for Offenberg show a Dietrich Guterman in 1352. Gutman was also sometimes used as a forename, as in Gutman Hevenler recorded in Freiburg in 1312, and Gutman Gut recorded in Sulz in 1413.