Bateman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by various people in history, literature and film
2. An English surname derived from an Old English personal name, carried by many notable people across the centuries
3. A surname of English origin that belongs to numerous individuals in British and American public life

Etymology: Bateman is an English surname built from two parts: "Bate," a personal name, and "man," meaning "servant of Bate." Surnames of this kind were common in medieval England, when a person might be identified by whom they worked for or belonged to, so a man in the household of someone called Bate could come to be known as Bateman. The first element is a short form of a personal name, which in turn helped give later families their surnames. Once such a name was passed down from father to son, it hardened into a fixed family name, and the "-man" ending kept its older sense of attendant or dependant. The result is a name that records a relationship of service rather than a trade or a place.