Contents [hide]

Colman History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Colman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The roots of the English name Colman in the northern counties are with the Irish personal name Colmán, which is in turn derived from the word "colm," meaning "dove." St. Columban (c. 540-615) of Ireland was a missionary in Europe, and forms of his name were adopted throughout Europe, where they were later adopted into surnames. It was "ancient Anglo-Saxon personal name mentioned by Bede." 1

It is thought that the Norwegians then brought the name to Cumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. In southern England, Colman finds its roots in the Old English workd "col," referring to "coal." In this instance the name was occupational for someone who gathered coal, or burned charcoal.

Early Origins of the Colman family

The surname Colman was first found in Buckinghamshire, where a record from the Pipe Rolls of 1176 show a Colemannus de Eston. 2 The name can also be found in Southern England in the Domesday Book, 3 where it was first listed as a personal name as in Colemannus.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list the name as a personal name and a surname: Coleman le Hen in Suffolk, 1273; Editha Colman in Oxfordshire; and Martin Coleman in London. Much later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Matilda Colman as residing there and holding lands at that time. 4

Early History of the Colman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colman research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1551, 1595, 1598, 1615, 1617, 1618, 1621, 1623, 1636, 1647, 1660, 1664, 1669, 1678, 1834, 1836, 1838, 1840, 1847, 1849, 1863, 1890 and 1929 are included under the topic Early Colman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colman Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Colman, Coleman, Coalman, Coulman, Colemen, Colmen, Coalmen, Colmin, Colmen, Coulmen, Coulmin, Colemin and many more.

Early Notables of the Colman family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Roger Colman (c 1623-1660), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660
Edward Colman or Coleman (1636-1678), was an English Catholic courtier under Charles II of England; he was hanged, drawn and quartered on a treason charge, having been implicated by Titus Oates in his...

Colman Ranking

In the United States, the name Colman is the 7,345^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Colman family to Ireland

Some of the Colman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colman migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Colman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Abram Colman, who landed in Virginia in 1622 6
Barnard Colman, aged 26, who arrived in Bermuda, (Somers Islands) in 1635 aboard the ship "Truelove" 6
Thomas Colman, from Wiltshire, who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James", bound for Newbury then Nantucket 6
Henry Colman, who landed in Virginia in 1637 6
Joseph Colman, who arrived in New England in 1638 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Colman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joh Adam Colman, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 6
Michael Colman, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1763 6
John Colman, who arrived in New Jersey in 1769 6
Richard Colman, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1787 6

Colman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Colman, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County Pennsylvania in 1812 6
Joseph Colman, who arrived in Texas in 1829 6
D Colman, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
C H R Colman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
Thomas Colman, who landed in Virginia in 1887 6

Colman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Colman Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Michael Colman was a fisherman of St. John's, Newfoundland in 1794 7

Colman migration to Australia +

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

Colman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Colman, a painter, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Miss. Margaret Colman, British Convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 9th March 1847, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
W. Colman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Posthumous" in 1849 9

Colman migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Colman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

J. Colman, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Indemnity" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 19th July 1842 10
Ralph Colman, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Nimroud" in 1864
George Colman, aged 22, a farm labourer, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Christian McAusland" in 1875
William Colman, aged 20, a farm labourer, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Christian McAusland" in 1875
Mr. Joseph Colman, (b. 1852), aged 22, Scottish tailor, from Ayr travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Oamaru" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th February 1875 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Colman migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12

Colman Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Francis Colman, aged 30, who arrived in Barbados in 1683 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Colman (post 1700) +

Booth Colman (1923-2014), American film, television and stage actor
Michael Colman (1968-1994), American ice hockey defenseman
Wayne Charles Colman (b. 1946), former American football linebacker
David R. Colman (1949-2011), American neuroscientist
Douglass Clayton Colman (b. 1973), former American football linebacker
Samuel Colman (1832-1920), American painter, interior designer, and writer
Philip E. Colman, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
Lady Mary Cecilia Colman (1932-2021), English socialite, philanthropist, and extra lady-in-waiting to Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy
George Colman the Younger (1762-1836), English dramatist and miscellaneous writer, son of George Colman the elder 13
George Colman the Elder (1732-1794), English dramatist and essayist, born in Florence, in which capital his father, Francis Colman, resided as envoy at the court of Tuscany 13
... (Another 15 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1847
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The POSTHUMOUS 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Posthumous.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020