American Family Name Origins:
Alterman
Frequency: (433)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Jewish (Ashkenazic): elaborated form of Alter or Alt (from the inflected form).
2. Respelling of German Altermann, a status name for the head of a craft guild. Compare English Alderman, which was also used in this sense.
3. Belgian: habitational name for someone from Aalter in East Flanders.
GIVEN NAMES: Jewish 4%. Hyman, Irina, Merav.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
