# Chapman (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/chapman/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname originating as an occupation for a merchant.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 127,939 |
| US rank (2010) | 236 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,413 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.7% (124,614 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈt͡ʃæpmən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* From Middle English chapman, chepman, meaning merchant or trader; equivalent to cheap (noun) + man. Doublet of Kaufman and Koopman. * (golf game): Named after American amateur golfer Dick Chapman, who collaborated with the USGA in devising the system.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Chapman in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 80% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 15% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Chapman in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, France and the United Kingdom.

## People named Chapman

- Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter (born 1964)
- George Chapman, 16th/17th-century English dramatist, poet, and translator
- Carrie Chapman Catt, American social reformer, suffragist (1859-1947)
- Brenda Chapman, American animator, storyboard artist, and director
- Michael Chapman, American cinematographer and film director (1935-2020)
- Frank M. Chapman, American ornithologist (1864–1945)
- Kevin Chapman, American actor (born 1962)
- Gary Chapman, American relationship counselor, author and radio host
- Marguerite Chapman, American actress (1918-1999)
- Mike Chapman, Australian record producer and songwriter
- Steven Curtis Chapman, American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter
- Ernest Chapman, Australian rower (1926-2013)

and 32 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Chipman, Coffman.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.