Show ContentsTruman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture once found in Britain is the soil from which the many generations of the Truman family have grown. The name Truman was given to a member of the family who was a faithful or trusty man. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old English words trew, trewe, trow, and trowe. These all come from the Old English word treowe, which means faithful, loyal, or trustworthy. The latter portion of the name is derived from the word man.

Early Origins of the Truman family

The surname Truman was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Truman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Truman research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1500, 1631, 1671 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Truman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Truman 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 Truman family name include Trueman, Truman, Trewman, Trimen and others.

Early Notables of the Truman family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Joseph Truman (1631-1671), ejected minister and metaphysician, born at Gedling, near Nottingham, son of Richard and Mary Truman[1]...

Truman Ranking

In the United States, the name Truman is the 5,293rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [2]

Ireland Migration of the Truman family to Ireland

Some of the Truman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Truman migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Truman surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Truman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Truman, who settled in Virginia in 1654
  • Suffiah Truman, who landed in Maryland in 1660 [3]
  • Alice Truman, who arrived in Maryland in 1665 [3]
  • Nathaniel Truman, who landed in Maryland in 1665 [3]
  • Thomas Truman, who arrived in Maryland in 1666 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Truman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • George Truman, aged 36, who landed in New York in 1812 [3]
  • B Truman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 [3]
  • C H Truman, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1860 [3]

Canada Truman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Truman Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Hanah Truman, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
  • William Truman, aged 52, who landed in Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia in 1774
  • William Truman, who settled in Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia in 1774 with his wife Anne and son William

Australia Truman migration to Australia +

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

Truman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Truman, English convict who was convicted in Derbyshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 22nd July 1830, arriving in New South Wales [4]
  • William Truman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Katherine Stewart Forbes" in 1839 [5]
  • Benjamin Truman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Somersetshire" in 1839 [6]

New Zealand Truman 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:

Truman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Charles Truman, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Kingston" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 29th December 1858 [7]
  • Ried Truman, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bellissima" in 1864
  • Mary Truman, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bellissima" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Truman (post 1700) +

  • Harry R. Truman (1896-1980), American resident of the U.S. state of Washington who lived on the Mount St. Helens volcano; he is presumed dead after the eruption in 1980; he was protrayed by Art Carney in the docudrama film St. Helens (1981)
  • Lyman Truman (1806-1881), American merchant, banker and politician, New York State Senator (1858-1863)
  • Lieutenant General Louis W. Truman (1908-2004), American former Commanding General of Third U.S. Army, cousin to Harry S. Truman
  • James Steele Truman (1874-1957), American lawyer and politician, New York State Senator (1925-1928)
  • Edwin "Ted" M. Truman (b. 1941), American economist, Senior Fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics since 2001
  • Benjamin Cummings Truman (1835-1916), American journalist and author, a war correspondent during the American Civil War
  • David Bicknell Truman (1913-2003), American academic, 15th president of Mount Holyoke College (1969-1978)
  • Timothy Truman (b. 1956), American writer, artist and musician
  • Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (1924-2008), American singer and writer, the only child of Harry Truman and First Lady Bess Truman
  • Bess Wallace Truman (1885-1982), American First Lady, wife of President Truman
  • ... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
  5. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) KATHERINE STEWART FORBES 1837 arrived Holdfast Bay, near Adelaide, on October 17, 1837. . Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1837KatherineStewartForbes.htm
  6. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SOMERSETSHIRE 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Somersetshire.htm
  7. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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