Tatman last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Tatman

An English occupational surname referring to someone who mends or patches clothes, derived from the Old English "tætteman."

Tatman, 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 Tatman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tatman in America

Tatman is the 11081st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tatman surname appeared 2,864 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 Tatman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tatman 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 11081 11336 -2.28%
Count 2,864 2,556 11.37%
Proportion per 100k 0.97 0.95 2.08%

The history of the last name Tatman

The surname Tatman is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for someone who worked as a thatcher, referring to a person who thatched roofs with straw or reeds.

The name is derived from the Old English word "thaeccan," meaning "to cover or thatch." Over time, this word evolved into various spellings, including "thatcher," "thacker," and eventually "Tatman." The earliest recorded instance of the name is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it appears as "William le Thackere."

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are references to several villages with names containing the word "thatched," such as "Tacchedene" (Thatchden) in Buckinghamshire and "Thaccheleie" (Thatchley) in Shropshire. These place names suggest the presence of thatchers in those areas during the 11th century, which may have contributed to the development of the surname.

Notable individuals with the surname Tatman throughout history include:

  1. William Tatman (c. 1472 - 1536), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Exeter in the early 16th century.

  2. John Tatman (c. 1550 - 1620), an English merchant and explorer who was part of the expedition to establish the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1607.

  3. Elizabeth Tatman (c. 1635 - 1702), an English Quaker who was persecuted for her religious beliefs and spent time in prison for refusing to conform to the Church of England.

  4. Thomas Tatman (1725 - 1801), a British colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Bahamas from 1783 to 1789.

  5. Samuel Tatman (1812 - 1891), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Tatman Foundation, which provided educational opportunities for underprivileged children in the Midwest.

While the surname Tatman is not as common as some other English surnames, it has a rich history rooted in the occupational trades of medieval England and has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tatman

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

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 Tatman was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 87.29% 2,500
Non-Hispanic Black Only 7.44% 213
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.80% 23
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.63% 18
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.29% 37
Hispanic Origin 2.55% 73

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 Tatman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 87.29% 90.96% -4.12%
Black 7.44% 5.56% 28.92%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.80% 0.63% 23.78%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.63% 0.55% 13.56%
Two or More Races 1.29% 1.02% 23.38%
Hispanic 2.55% 1.29% 65.63%

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 Tatman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Tatman last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 2, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/tatman-surname-popularity/.

"Tatman last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/tatman-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 November, 2024

Tatman last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/tatman-surname-popularity/.

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