PRIESTMAN
The surname Priestman is of English origin and belongs to the class of occupational surnames that first appeared in the Middle Ages.
It is derived from the Middle English word prest, meaning “priest”, coupled with the suffix man, denoting a servant or worker. Consequently, the name most likely referred to an individual who worked as a servant or assistant to a clergyman.
Historical records show a variety of spellings, including Priest, Preist, Prest, Prost and Pressman, before the current form Priestman became established. Early examples of the name appear in a range of medieval documents.
In 1086 the Domesday Book for Norfolk records the name as Asci Preost. The 1176 Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire include a Baldwin Prest. The Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire, 1275, list a Robert Prestman. The earliest documented spelling appears in the English Bynames list for Hertfordshire in 963, as Aelfsige Preost, during the reign of King Edgar.
Because priests in the medieval period were celibate, the surname could not have been borne by a reigning clergyman. Instead, it may have applied either to a lay assistant in a priest’s household or to a man who had formerly been in holy orders. Another plausible explanation is that it arose as a nickname for an actor who specialised in playing priests in travelling theatrical companies.
The Old English root preost originally described a counsellor or village elder, and later acquired a religious connotation in the transferred sense. Occupational surnames like Priestman became hereditary only when a son followed in his father’s trade, while surnames derived from nicknames were common in the Middle Ages.
Thus, the evidence indicates that the surname Priestman has longstanding English roots, arises from a clear occupational context, and is attested in a wide range of official documents dating from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries.
Typical given names associated with the Priestman surname
Male
- Ashley
- David
- Geoffrey
- Ian
- James
- John
- Jonothan
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Philip
- Simon
- Steven
- Ward
- William
Female
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Joan
- Louise
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Rachel
- Sarah
- Sheila
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Priestman in...
Braille
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Morse
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Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Priestman are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Ginger Nut.
There are approximately 729 people named Priestman in the UK. That makes it roughly the 9,401st most common surname in Britain. Around 11 in a million people in Britain are named Priestman.
Famous people named Priestman
- Henry Priestman - Pop musician, songwriter and record producer
- Brian Priestman - Conductor and music educator (1927 to 2014)
- John Priestman - Army officer (1885 to 1964)
- Richard Priestman - Archer
- William Dent Priestman - Engineer (1847 to 1936)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.