Wyman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by various people across generations and in many countries
2. An English surname carried by numerous individuals, such as the bassist of the Rolling Stones band
3. A common English family name used as a surname by many people in Britain and North America

Etymology: Wyman is a surname rather than a common word, and its story begins with a pair of Old English elements. The name Wīġmund was built from "wīġ", meaning war or battle, and "mund", meaning security or protection, so the whole name roughly signified protection in battle. Old English names were often built this way, two meaningful parts joined to form a personal name, and many such names survived into family surnames long after the original sense faded. The surname took a different route in other places. In Germany, the name Weimann was carried to America and Americanized into Wyman, so the English-looking spelling can hide a German family origin. Its close relative Wiman is another variant of the same kind of spelling change.