Orins of the surname Heasman?

Question

Like a lot of people I have been drawn into thinking about family history and I am interested in the origins of the name Heasman it seems odd that it appears to have been around a long time yet is still relatively rare and concentrated in the south east of the UK

Answer 1

Heasman
This most interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a topographical name
for "a dweller in the brushwood", derived from the Olde English pre 7th century elements
"haess", brushwood, and "mann", man; hence "man from the brushwood". The surname
may also have originated from the medieval given name "Hay", from the Olde English
nickname "Heah", meaning tall, with "mann", which in this case means "servant of", or
"Heah's man". The Olde English "haes", is also found in the placenames Hayes (Kent
and Middlesex), Hays (Sussex), Heaseland, and Heasewood Farm (Sussex).
Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-
made features in the landscape provided easily recognisable distinguishing names in the
small communities of the Middle Ages. Variants of the surname in the modern idiom
include Heaseman, Hayesman, Easman and Atheis. Hayesman and Easeman are both
found in Kent. Hugh de la Heise is recorded in 1197, in the Eynsham Cartulary
(Oxford). William son of Henery and Ann Heasman, was christened on April 20th,
1698 at St. Paul's, Convent Garden, Westminster, London. The first recorded spelling
of the family name is shown to be that of
Simon le Heysman, which was dated
1275, in the "Hundred Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of
King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.

Answer 2

Heasman appears to be from the UK, but what if he was Heismann -- German -- and the surname was misspelled by a court clerk or changed to conform to the way his neighbors pronounced the name?

You can't skip doing direct family research. That is the only way to be certain the spelling of the surname has not been changed.

FYI The site http://search.swyrich.com tries to fit every surname into the UK; my very German surname was given UK variants on their site without a mention of its German origin.

Answer 3

Hey Paul,

Swyrich.com gives a good origin, with an audience intended for USA, see the immigration details to USA.

Heasman
Origin: English

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hayman, Heyman and others.

First found in Kent where they were seated from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: William Hayman settled in the Barbados in 1634; Captain Hayman settled in Boston in 1765; William Hayman arrived in Philadelphia in 1774; Lambert Haymen settled in Philadelphia in 1875.

Answer 4

Hi, here are a few web sites that should be of some use to you, good luck with it :

http://www.cousinconnect.com/d/a/28188

http://www.genealogytoday.com/surname/finder.mv?Surname=Heasman

http://surname-meaning.encona.uk.com/?uid=adwords-TS10033-SH-2006712-113944-16