Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • English (chiefly Northumbria) : occupational name for a tender of animals, normally a cowherd or shepherd, from Middle English herde + man ‘man’. The surname is also found in Ireland, where it dates back to around the 14th century.
  • Scottish : status name from Old English hīredman ‘retainer’, denoting a member of a lord’s household and followers, the hīred.
  • German (Herdmann) : occupational name for a tender of animals (see Herder).