Greenman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Greenman is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the chapelry of Greeham in the parish of Thatcham in the county of Berkshire. The place-name is derived from the Old English Greenham, which refers to either a green river-bed or a green homestead. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Greenham, a tything, in the parish of Ashbrittle, union of Wellington, hundred of Milverton in Somerset. 2

Greenan Castle is a 16th century tower house, around 2.5 miles south-west of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland

Early Origins of the Greenman family

The surname Greenman was first found in Somerset, where Simon de Gryndham was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1268. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Ralph de Greneham, Suffolk and Ralph de Grenham was also listed in Suffolk, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III. 4

Early History of the Greenman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greenman research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1535, 1559, 1564, 1567, 1594 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Greenman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenman Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Greenman family name include Greenham, Greenam, Greenum and others.

Early Notables of the Greenman family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Ralph Greenham of Suffolk; and Richard Greenham or Grenham (1535?-1594), an early Puritan Minister, at Dry Drayton, Cambridgeshire. He "was probably born about 1535, and went at an...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Greenman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenman Ranking

In the United States, the name Greenman is the 10,496^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Greenman family to Ireland

Some of the Greenman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenman migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Greenman surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Greenman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Greenman, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1682 6

Greenman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

A. Greenman, who settled in America, in 1892

Greenman Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Catherine Greenman, aged 40, who landed in America from Liverpool, England, in 1908
George Sydney Greenman, aged 26, who landed in America from Clapham England, in 1908
Annie Greenman, aged 31, who immigrated to the United States from Liverpool, England, in 1911
Flora Greenman, aged 43, who landed in America from London, England, in 1912
Dorothy Greenman, aged 22, who immigrated to America from Bradford, England, in 1914
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Greenman (post 1700) +

Jesse More Greenman (1867-1951), American botanist, noted for his work at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Edward Whitford Greenman (1840-1908), American politician, banker and merchant, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1887-1889)
Ben Greenman (b. 1969), American New York Times bestselling writer and magazine editor
David Greenman (b. 1977), American soap opera actor, known for his work in About Last Night (2014), Loyalties (2003) and Squaresville (2012)
Henry T. Greenman, American Republican politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Bridgeport, 1902 7
George Greenman, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Norwich, 1901-04 7
Frederick F. Greenman, American Republican politician, Candidate for New York State Senate 15th District, 1934; Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 17th District, 1936 7
Edward Whitford Greenman (1840-1908), American Democratic Party politician, Rensselaer County Clerk, 1868-71; U.S. Representative from New York 18th District, 1887-89 7
Edward Greenman, American politician, Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Deputies, 1704 7
Clark Greenman, American politician, Member of Connecticut State Senate 7th District, 1854 7
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html