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 APPELMAN Family Crest / APPELMAN Coat of ArmsThis English surname of APPLEMAN was originally derived from the Middle English word APPEL acquired as a surname in any of various senses. It may originally have been used as a topographic name for someone living by a prominent apple tree or apple orchard, a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of apples; or a nickname for someone having bright red cheeks, like an apple. The importance in medieval northern Europe of apples, as a fruit which could be grown in a cold climate and would keep for use throughout the winter is hard to appreciate in these days of easy imports. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill, stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. The earliest of the name on record appears to be Nicholas APPELMAN, who was documented during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but most of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. |
