This unusual name is an example of the medieval method of creating a surname from a description of a person's job or status. In this instance, the name means "Bartle's man", i.e. servant, Bartle being a diminutive of the personal name "Bartholomew", which was very popular throughout Christendom in the Middle Ages, due particularly to the influence of St. Bartholomew, patron saint of vintners, tanners and butlers. "Bartholomew" derives from the Aramaic patronymic "bar-Talmay" "son of Talmay", which itself means "having many furrows" and thus "rich in land". "Bartleman" is found partiicularly in Yorkshire, as are similar formations such as "Matthewman", "Priestman" and "Vickerman". One "David Bartleman" married "Mary Brown" at St. Georges's, Hanover Square, in London in 1780. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Batelman. which was dated 1379, The Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire. during the reign of King Richard II, Richard of Bordeaux, 1377 - 1399. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024