The surname Goodman is of English origin. It was a status name derived from the Middle English ‘gode’, good and ‘man’, man, in part from use as a master of a household; ‘The goodman of the house’ : Matt. XX. II. In Scotland the term was used of a landowner, however large his estate, who held his land not directly from the crown but from a fuedal vassal of the king. It may also be derived from the Middle English personal name ‘Godeman’, Old English ‘Godmann’, composed of the elements ‘god’, good or ‘god’, god and ‘mann’, man. It can also be derived from the Old English personal name ‘Guomund’, composed of the elements ‘guo’, battle and ‘mund’, protection; the Old Norman cognative being ‘Guomundr’. The name has been used by Jewish people as an anglicization of like sounding Hebrew names. The name dates back to the tenth century were a Godeman(us) is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America predominately by English immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a John Goodma…
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