Show ContentsChipman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Chipman is an Anglo-Saxon name. The name was originally given to a chapman, which was a merchant or trader.

Early Origins of the Chipman family

The surname Chipman was first found in Somerset where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Chipman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chipman research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1340 is included under the topic Early Chipman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chipman Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Chipman has appeared include Chipman, Chippman, Chipenham, Chipnam and others.

Early Notables of the Chipman family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • John Chipman of Barnstable in Devon

Chipman Ranking

In the United States, the name Chipman is the 6,271st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


United States Chipman migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Chipman arrived in North America very early:

Chipman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Chipman also arrived in New England in 1630
  • John Chipman who sailed from Barnstable in Devon in England who sailed aboard the "White Angel" in 1650. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Howland who came over on the "Mayflower". John Chipman was a representative of the General Court of the first colony
  • Dorothy Chipman, who arrived in Maryland in 1676 2
Chipman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Chipman, who settled in Boston in 1769
Chipman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Chipman, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1803
  • A Chipman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
  • W Chipman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
  • J Chipman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1855 2
  • John Chipman, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1873 2

Canada Chipman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Chipman Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Ward Chipman U.E. born in Massachusetts, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1783 graduated from Harvard in 1770 3

Australia Chipman migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Chipman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Chipman, (b. 1818), aged 25, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 22nd March 1843, sentenced for 10 years for highway robbery against Margaret Nicholls, transported aboard the ship "Sir George Seymour" on 5th November 1844 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Chipman (post 1700) +

  • Nathaniel Chipman (1752-1843), American politician, United States Senator from Vermont (1797-1803)
  • John Logan Chipman (1830-1893), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan (1887-1893)
  • John Smith Chipman (1800-1869), American lawyer and politician, United States Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Michigan (1845-1847)
  • Daniel Chipman (1765-1850), American lawyer, politician and academic, United States House of Representatives from Vermont (1815-1816)
  • Bob Chipman (1918-1973), American Major League Baseball player
  • Norton Parker Chipman (1834-1924), American Civil War hero, military prosecutor, politician, author and judge
  • Mark Chipman OM (b. 1960), Canadian hockey executive, businessman, and lawyer, Chairman of True North Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Winnipeg Jets
  • Jared Ingersol Chipman (1788-1832), Canadian lawyer, judge and politician who represented Shelburne in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1818 to 1826, son of John Chipman
  • John Chipman (1744-1836), Canadian farmer, judge and politician who represented Cornwallis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1776 to 1784
  • John Chipman Kerr VC (1887-1963), Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross

SS Southern Cross
  • Mr. Nathan Chipman (1894-1914), Newfoundlander from Spaniard's Bay who was aboard the "SS Southern Cross" when it is suspected she sank between the 31st March 1914 and early April during the storm with a heavy load of pelts; no survivors were ever found
  • Mr. George Chipman (b. 1914), Newfoundlander from Spaniard's Bay who was aboard the "SS Southern Cross" when it is suspected she sank between the 31st March 1914 and early April during the storm with a heavy load of pelts; no survivors were ever found


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. 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
  4. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf


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