The Norman Surname, Origins and Variations Norman, Normand, Normandie, Normandy, Norðman, Nordmann, Normansen, Van Norman, Van Naaman, these are but a few of many possible name variations of the Norman surname. The name was usually applied to a Scandinavian, perhaps even a Viking, a man from the north, or rather Northman, a Norseman. The Norman surname is more often seen in England, Ireland (from the Ulster Plantation), Scotland, and Holland and on ships’ lists of immigrants to America. The term norman appeared in England before the 1066 invasion for England by the Norman French. It was brought England by earlier Scandinavian settlers and was later adopted by the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants. Before the Norman Conquest , people did not have hereditary surnames. They were known just by a personal name or nickname. The use of surnames gained acceptance in England after 1066. Also: French: regional name for someone from Normandy. Dutch: ethnic name for a Norwegian. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Nordman. Jewish: Americanized form of some like-sounding Ashkenazic name. In at least one case it is an Americanized form of Novominsky, the name of a family from Uman in Ukraine. On coming to the United States around 1900, a member of this family changed his name to Norman, after which some relatives in Russia adopted this name in place of Novominsky. Swedish: from norr ‘north’ + man ‘man’. Source:  Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 After the Norman invasion of England in 1066, most Anglo-Saxon names (still clearly Germanic) were replaced by French cognates. These were no longer clearly Germanic as they had been after being introduced into Gaul by the Frankish invaders. Source:  German American Names, George F. Jones, GPC Inc., 1990, ISBN 0-8063-1271-8