13,188 Lyman members around the world

Lyman Family History

Recorded in the spellings of Layman, Leyman, Lyman, and possibly Leman, this surname is of pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon origin. It is topographical and describes a person who lived and worked a farm of meadows or grazing lands. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "leah", meaning a glade, plus "mann", a status title which implied the person responsible. 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.