Contents [hide]

Colman History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies South Africa

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Sources

Colman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Colman

What does the name Colman mean?

While the Anglicized versions of Irish names are familiar to most people, many Irish names have a long and proud Gaelic heritage that is often unknown. The Colman surname stems from two distinct Gaelic names O'Clúmháin, derived from the Irish root "clúmh," meaning "down," or "feathers," and from Ó Colmain, derived the Latin word "columba," which means "dove." 1

Early Origins of the Colman family

The surname Colman was first found in County Sligo (Irish: Sligeach), in the province of Connacht in Northwestern Ireland, where they were a sept of O'Colmain, a branch of Hy Fiachrach. 2

Early History of the Colman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colman research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Colman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colman Spelling Variations

The archives that survive today demonstrate the difficulty experienced by the scribes of the Middle Ages in their attempt to record these names in writing. Spelling variations of the name Colman dating from that time include Colman, Coleman, O'Colman, MacColeman, McColeman, Coalman, Coulman, Colemen, Colmen, Coalmen, Colmin, Colmen, Coulmen, Coulmin, Colemin and many more.

Early Notables of the Colman family

More information is included under the topic Early Colman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

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. 3

Colman migration to the United States +

A massive wave of Irish immigrants hit North America during the 19th century. Although many early Irish immigrants made a carefully planned decision to leave left Ireland for the promise of free land, by the 1840s immigrants were fleeing a famine stricken land in desperation. The condition of Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s can be attributed to a rapidly expanding population and English imperial policies. Those Irish families that arrived in North America were essential to its rapid social, industrial, and economic development. Passenger and immigration lists have revealed a number of early Irish immigrants bearing the name Colman:

Colman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Abram Colman, who landed in Virginia in 1622 4
Barnard Colman, aged 26, who arrived in Bermuda, (Somers Islands) in 1635 aboard the ship "Truelove" 4
Thomas Colman, from Wiltshire, who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James", bound for Newbury then Nantucket 4
Henry Colman, who landed in Virginia in 1637 4
Joseph Colman, who arrived in New England in 1638 4
... (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 4
Michael Colman, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1763 4
John Colman, who arrived in New Jersey in 1769 4
Richard Colman, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1787 4

Colman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Colman, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County Pennsylvania in 1812 4
Joseph Colman, who arrived in Texas in 1829 4
D Colman, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
C H R Colman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
Thomas Colman, who landed in Virginia in 1887 4

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 5

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) 6
W. Colman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Posthumous" in 1849 7

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 8
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 9
... (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. 10

Colman Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Francis Colman, aged 30, who arrived in Barbados in 1683 4

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
Sir Timothy James Alan Colman KG (1929-2021), British businessman and a Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk; he was from the Colman's mustard family, his father was Geoffrey Colman (1892-1935)
Mr. Francis Colman, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1555 to 1556
Lady Mary Cecilia Colman (1932-2021), English socialite, philanthropist, and extra lady-in-waiting to Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy
... (Another 15 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
"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