Find out how popular the last name Laughman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Laughman.

Laughman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Laughman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laughman in America

Laughman is the 18366th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laughman surname appeared 1,508 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Laughman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laughman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Laughman

The surname Laughman is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hleahtor" or "laughter," indicating that the name was likely originally a nickname given to someone with a jovial or mirthful disposition.

The earliest known reference to the name Laughman can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire, dated 1379, where a John Laughman is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use during the late Middle Ages in northern England.

In the 15th century, variations of the spelling began to appear, such as Laughtman and Laughteman, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional dialects. These alternative spellings can be found in various historical records from that period, including the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1465.

One notable bearer of the Laughman name was Sir William Laughman, a 16th-century English merchant and landowner from Lincolnshire. He was born in 1523 and served as a member of the Parliament for Grantham in 1572.

The Laughman surname also appears in the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1674, which were records of householders required to pay a tax based on the number of hearths (fireplaces) in their homes. This suggests that the name had spread across various parts of England by the late 17th century.

In Scotland, the earliest known instance of the name Laughman dates back to the late 17th century, appearing in the Parish Records of Dumfriesshire in 1692, where a James Laughman is mentioned.

During the 18th century, the Laughman name can be found in various genealogical records and parish registers across England and Scotland. One notable figure from this period was John Laughman, a Scottish merchant born in 1743 in Aberdeenshire, who established a successful trading company in London.

As the centuries progressed, the Laughman surname continued to spread and evolve, with various branches of the family establishing themselves in different regions of the British Isles and, later, throughout the English-speaking world due to emigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laughman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Laughman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Laughman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Laughman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Laughman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Laughman, please contact us.

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