How common is the surname Chapman?

127,939 people in the United States had the surname Chapman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,413 Americans. It ranked 236th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Chapman?

Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter (born 1964), followed by George Chapman.

Where is the surname Chapman most common?

Wikidata records people named Chapman in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Chapman?

Chapman is /ˈt͡ʃæpmən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Chapman getting more or less common?

More common. 124,614 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 127,939 in 2010, up 2.7%.

Is Chapman also a first name?

Yes. Chapman is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Chapman

An English occupational surname, carried by 127,939 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈt͡ʃæpmən/ 2 syllables Soundex C155

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Chapman is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

English origin

* 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.

Chapman is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 127,939 people named Chapman in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,413 Americans. That is up 2.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 124,614.

#236

rank among US surnames

127,939

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.7%

change since 2000 (was #218)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#227	Pena	130,776	2,361
#228	Richards	130,529	2,365
#229	Contreras	130,164	2,372
#230	Willis	130,152	2,372
#231	Carpenter	129,898	2,377
#232	Lawrence	129,699	2,380
#233	Sandoval	128,948	2,394

Who is named Chapman

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

80% of people named Chapman identified as white (not Hispanic), 15% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Chapmans

44 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Tracy Chapman
American singer-songwriter (born 1964)
George Chapman
16th/17th-century English dramatist, poet, and translator, 1559–1634
Carrie Chapman Catt
American social reformer, suffragist (1859-1947)
Brenda Chapman
American animator, storyboard artist, and director, born 1962
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, born 1938
Marguerite Chapman
American actress (1918-1999)
Mike Chapman
Australian record producer and songwriter, born 1947
Steven Curtis Chapman
American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter, born 1962
Ernest Chapman
Australian rower (1926-2013)

Notable Chapmans come mostly from the United States (33), Australia (8) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Chapman

Chipman

Chapman has the Soundex code C155, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C155.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Chapman come from?: * 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.
How common is the surname Chapman?: 127,939 people in the United States had the surname Chapman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,413 Americans. It ranked 236th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Chapman?: In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Chapman identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Chapman?: Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter (born 1964), followed by George Chapman.
Where is the surname Chapman most common?: Wikidata records people named Chapman in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Chapman?: Chapman is /ˈt͡ʃæpmən/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Chapman?: Chapman is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Chapman getting more or less common?: More common. 124,614 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 127,939 in 2010, up 2.7%.
Is Chapman also a first name?: Yes. Chapman is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.