NameCensus.

UK surname

Hamman

A toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a bend or enclosure, derived from Old English "hamm".

In the 1881 census there were 131 people recorded with the Hamman surname, ranking it #16,824 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 174, ranked #21,466, down from #16,824 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Fittleworth, Loughborough and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester and Braintree.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hamman is 224 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 32.8%.

1881 census count

131

Ranked #16,824

Modern count

174

2016, ranked #21,466

Peak year

1861

224 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hamman had 131 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,824 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 174 in 2016, ranked #21,466.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 224 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Hamman surname distribution map

The map shows where the Hamman surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Hamman surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hamman over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 116 #15,545
1861 historical 224 #10,882
1881 historical 131 #16,824
1891 historical 158 #17,705
1901 historical 89 #24,154
1911 historical 144 #18,325
1997 modern 161 #20,176
1998 modern 156 #21,144
1999 modern 163 #20,698
2000 modern 149 #21,874
2001 modern 149 #21,568
2002 modern 153 #21,609
2003 modern 154 #21,308
2004 modern 154 #21,432
2005 modern 159 #20,983
2006 modern 161 #20,972
2007 modern 163 #21,050
2008 modern 167 #20,901
2009 modern 166 #21,469
2010 modern 172 #21,404
2011 modern 167 #21,642
2012 modern 179 #20,679
2013 modern 176 #21,237
2014 modern 177 #21,340
2015 modern 174 #21,449
2016 modern 174 #21,466

Geography

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Where Hammans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Fittleworth, Loughborough, Manchester, London parishes and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Braintree and Trafford. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Fittleworth Sussex
2 Loughborough Leicestershire
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 London parishes London 2
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cheshire East 009 Cheshire East
2 Cheshire East 010 Cheshire East
3 Cheshire West and Chester 012 Cheshire West and Chester
4 Braintree 006 Braintree
5 Trafford 024 Trafford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hamman

These lists show first names that appear often with the Hamman surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hamman

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Hamman, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Hamman surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Hamman household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Hamman is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Hamman is most concentrated in decile 3 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

3
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Hamman falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Hamman is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Hamman, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Hamman

The surname Hamman has its origins in the Germanic language and is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the German word "heim," meaning "home" or "homestead," and "mann," meaning "man." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who owned or worked on a homestead.

One of the earliest known references to the name Hamman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt in modern-day Germany. This document, dating back to 1154, mentions a person named "Henricus Hamman."

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records across different regions of Germany, including the Liber Census Daniae, a Danish census record from around 1230, which lists a "Johannes Hamman" from Lübeck.

During the Middle Ages, the Hamman surname was also associated with various place names in Germany, such as Hammerstein and Hammerschmidt, which may have contributed to the spelling variations of the name.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Hamman was Johann Hamman, a German scholar and theologian born in 1644 in Lübben, Brandenburg. He is known for his work on Christian apologetics and his defense of the Lutheran faith.

Another notable figure was Johann Michael Hamman, a German composer and organist born in 1760 in Wittenberg, Saxony. He is best known for his compositions for the organ and his contribution to the development of the German organ school.

In the 19th century, the Hamman surname gained prominence with the birth of Hans Hamman, a German industrialist and entrepreneur born in 1819 in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. He played a significant role in the development of the German textile industry and was a pioneer in the use of modern manufacturing techniques.

Another individual with the Hamman surname was Wilhelm Hamman, a German historian and philologist born in 1844 in Schleswig-Holstein. He made significant contributions to the study of medieval German literature and was a respected scholar in his field.

Finally, Friedrich Hamman, born in 1886 in Cologne, Germany, was a renowned architect and urban planner. He was influential in the development of modern architecture in Germany and played a key role in the reconstruction efforts following World War II.

While the Hamman surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, primarily due to emigration and migration patterns. However, the name's rich history and association with notable individuals in various fields continue to be an important part of its legacy.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hamman families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hamman surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Cheshire leads with 32 Hammans recorded in 1881 and an index of 11.34x.

County Total Index
Cheshire 32 11.34x
Warwickshire 22 6.83x
Middlesex 19 1.49x
Lancashire 15 0.99x
Northumberland 9 4.73x
Surrey 7 1.12x
Kent 6 1.38x
Sussex 6 2.79x
Oxfordshire 4 5.07x
Glamorgan 2 0.90x
Lanarkshire 2 0.48x
Wiltshire 2 1.77x
Devon 1 0.38x
Dorset 1 1.19x
Hampshire 1 0.38x
Monmouthshire 1 1.08x
Yorkshire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Knutsford Nether in Cheshire leads with 27 Hammans recorded in 1881 and an index of 1588.24x.

Place Total Index
Knutsford Nether 27 1588.24x
Birmingham 12 11.17x
Aston 10 11.27x
Rusholme 9 222.77x
Westgate 9 76.47x
Chelsea London 8 20.77x
Fittleworth 6 2000.00x
Knutsford Over 5 2777.78x
Minster In Sheppey 5 69.25x
Newton 5 42.77x
Send Ripley 5 617.28x
Oxford St Ebbe 4 172.41x
Stoke Newington London 3 30.15x
Barony 2 1.91x
Clerkenwell London 2 6.63x
Ludgershall 2 909.09x
St Martin In Fields 2 26.14x
Westminster St Margaret 2 32.47x
Camberwell 1 1.23x
Cuddington 1 416.67x
Holy Trinity 1 3.28x
Honiton 1 68.03x
Hulme 1 3.16x
Merthyr Tydfil 1 4.68x
Mile End Old Town London 1 3.68x
Monmouth 1 40.82x
Portsea 1 1.95x
St Marylebone London 1 1.47x
Tarrant Launceston 1 2500.00x
Woolwich 1 6.21x
Ystradyfodwg 1 5.12x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Hamman surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 11
Charlotte 4
Ellen 4
Ann 3
Emma 3
Sarah 3
Alice 2
Amelia 2
Elizabeth 2
Hannah 2
Julia 2
Martha 2
Ada 1
Agnes 1
Annie 1
Bertha 1
Caroline 1
Elizbeth 1
Elizth. 1
Emily 1
Esther 1
Evelyn 1
Florence 1
Francis 1
Georgiana 1
Jane 1
Lizzie 1
Lizzy 1
Luisa 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Miriam 1
Ruth 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Hamman surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Henry 7
John 6
Richard 5
William 5
Charles 4
James 4
Alfred 3
George 3
Harry 3
Edward 2
Frank 2
Herbert 2
Joseph 2
Robert 2
Samuel 2
Thomas 2
Walter 2
Arthur 1
Bertie 1
Edgar 1
Emanuel 1
Ernest 1
Frederick 1
Fredk. 1
J. 1
Michael 1
Sidney 1
Timothy 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Hamman surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hamman surname in 1881?

In 1881, 131 people were recorded with the Hamman surname. That placed it at #16,824 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hamman surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 174 in 2016. That gives Hamman a modern rank of #21,466.

What does the Hamman surname mean?

A toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a bend or enclosure, derived from Old English "hamm".

What does the Hamman map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Hamman bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.