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Freeman Family History

Freeman Surname Meaning

English: from Middle English freman fremon ‘freeman free-born man’ (Old English frēomann frīgmann) used also occasionally as a personal name. As an African American surname it was in many cases adopted as a name denoting a man freed of slavery. See also Fryman and Free.

Irish: Anglicized (‘translated’) form of Gaelic Ó Saoraidhe (see Seery).

Americanized form of French Lafrenière (see Lafreniere).

Americanized form (translation into English) of German Freimann (see Freiman).

Dutch: variant of Vreeman.

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


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Where is the Freeman family from?

You can see how Freeman families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Freeman family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Freeman families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 373 Freeman families living in New York. This was about 16% of all the recorded Freeman's in USA. New York had the highest population of Freeman families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Freeman 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 Freeman ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Freeman. 17% of Freeman men worked as a Laborer and 8% of Freeman women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Freeman were Truck Driver and Cook.

View Census Data for Freeman | 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

  • Laborer
    17%
  • Farmer
    16%
  • Salesman
    5%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Maid
    8%
  • Housewife
    6%
  • Housekeeper
    6%
  • Cook
    5%

What Freeman family records will you find?

Census Records

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

Search US census records for Freeman

Passenger Lists

There are 117,000 immigration records available for the last name Freeman. 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 Freeman immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 166,000 military records available for the last name Freeman. For the veterans among your Freeman ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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