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Chapman Family History

Chapman Surname Meaning

English: occupational name for a merchant or trader. Middle English chap(pe)man chepman Old English cēapmann cēpemann a compound of cēap ‘barter bargain price property’ + mann ‘man’.

Jewish: English surname (see 1 above) adopted for a like-sounding (e.g. Czapnik; see Chapnick) or like-meaning Jewish name (e.g. Kaufman) in some other European language.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Chapman family from?

You can see how Chapman families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Chapman family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Chapman families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1840 there were 471 Chapman families living in New York. This was about 19% of all the recorded Chapman's in USA. New York had the highest population of Chapman families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Chapman surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Chapman ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Housewife were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Chapman. 15% of Chapman men worked as a Farmer and 6% of Chapman women worked as a Housewife. Some less common occupations for Americans named Chapman were Truck Driver and Maid.

View Census Data for Chapman | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    15%
  • Laborer
    15%
  • Salesman
    5%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Housewife
    6%
  • Teacher
    6%
  • Housekeeper
    6%
  • Maid
    6%

What Chapman family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Chapman. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Chapman census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Chapman

Passenger Lists

There are 130,000 immigration records available for the last name Chapman. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Chapman immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 179,000 military records available for the last name Chapman. For the veterans among your Chapman ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Chapman military records

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