Chapman is an English surname derived from the Old English occupational name céapmann "marketman, monger, merchant", from the verb céapan, cypan "to buy or sell" and the noun form ceap "barter, business, purchase." Alternate spellings include Caepmon, Cepeman, Chepmon, Cypman(n), and Shapman. (By 1600, the occupational name chapman had come to be applied to an itinerant dealer in particular, but it remained in use for both "customer, buyer" and "merchant" in the 17th and 18th centuries. Modern chiefly British slang chap “man" arose from the use of the abbreviated word to mean a customer, one with whom to bargain.)
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) supplies four meanings for chapman, all of which pertain to buying and selling: 1) A man whose business was buying and selling; 2) an itinerant dealer who travels, also known as a hawker or peddler; 3) an agent in a commercial transaction; 4) a purchaser or customer. (N.B. A “petty chapman” was a retail dealer.) The OED includes a citation of an English ordinance or decree that dates from 1553, during the reign of Edward VI: "No Tinker, Peddler, or petit Chapman shall wander about from the Towne but such as shall be licensed by two Justices of Peace." According to a list of colonial occupations, a chapman is a peddler or dealer of goods, usually itinerant, going from village to village. The related word chapbook is a later coinage from the 19th century which appears to refer to the fact that chapbooks were very cheaply made. From Old English ceap is also derived cheap "inexpensive", a shortening of good ceap "good buy", and Cheapside "market place", a street in London that both historically and in modern times has been the financial centre of the city.
Both the compound "chapman" and its first element chap- have cognates in all the major Germanic languages. From the prehistoric West Germanic compound *kaup- are derived cognates Old Saxon cop, Old Frisian kap "trade, purchase", Middle Dutch coop, modern Dutch kopen "to buy", koop "trade, market, bargain" and goedkoop "inexpensive". These are akin to Old High German choufman, German Kaufmann, a common modern German surname; and North Germanic forms leading to Old Norse kaup "bargain, pay", modern Swedish köpa "buy", and modern Danish kjøb "purchase, bargain" and Copenhagen (originally Køpmannæhafn "merchants' harbor, buyer's haven"). The common ancestor is Proto-Germanic *kaupoz-, which was probably an ancient Germanic borrowing of Latin caupo, caupon- "petty tradesman, huckster", of unknown ulterior etymology. From the German the word was borrowed into the Slavic languages (Old Slavic koupiti, modern Russian купить, etc.), the Baltic languages (Old Prussian kaupiskan "trade, commerce", Lithuanian kὑpczus “merchant”) and Finnish kaupata "to sell cheaply". In the Romance languages, however, the word has not survived.
Notable people with the surname or nickname Chapman include:
A
Abel Chapman (1851–1929), British born hunter-naturalist Adam Chapman (born 1989), Northern Irish footballer Albert Chapman (1872–1945), Australian politician Alfred Chapman (1829–1915), American real estate attorney, a founders of Orange, California Alger Chapman (1904–1983), American attorney, businessman and New York State official Alger Chapman Jr. (1931–2013), American chief executive Allan Chapman (historian) (1946–2026), British historian of science Allan Chapman (politician) (1897–1966), Scottish Unionist Member of Parliament 1935–1945 Allen Chapman (born 1974), American soccer referee Allen Chapman (American football) (born 1991), American football player Alvah Chapman Jr. (1921–2008), American newspaper publisher Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American botanist Amy Chapman (born 1987), Australian soccer player Andrew G. Chapman (1839–1892), American politician Andy Chapman (born 1959), British indoor soccer player Anna Chapman or Anna Kushchyenko-Chapman (born 1982), Russian entrepreneur, television host, and agent of the Russian Federation Anne Chapman, Franco-American ethnologist Annie Chapman (1841–1888), English victim of Jack the Ripper Aroldis Chapman (born 1988), Cuban baseball player Art Chapman (ice hockey) (1906–1962), Canadian ice hockey player and Olympian Art Chapman (basketball) (1912–1986), Canadian basketball player Arthur Chapman (poet) (1873–1935), American poet and newspaper columnist Arthur B. Chapman (1908–2004), British-American animal genetic researcher Asa Chapman (1770–1825), justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court Augustus A. Chapman (1805–1876), American lawyer and Democratic Party politician Augustus Chapman Allen (1806–1864), American founder of Houston, Texas Austin Chapman (1864–1926), Australian Protectionist Party politician
B Ben Chapman (politician) (born 1940), British Labour Party politician and former civil servant Ben Chapman (actor) (1928–2008), American actor, best known for playing the Gill-man in the 1954 movie Creature from the Black Lagoon Ben Chapman (baseball) (1908–1993), American baseball player Ben Chapman (footballer, born 1979), English football player Benjamin Chapman (1621–unknown), English soldier Bert Chapman (born 1942), Australian footballer Beth Chapman, American bounty hunter and reality star Beth Chapman (politician), American politician from Alabama Beth Nielsen Chapman (born 1958), American singer and songwriter Billy Chapman (footballer) (1902–1967), English footballer Bird Beers Chapman (1821–1871), American editor and Democratic Party politician Bob Chapman (born 1946), English footballer, often known as 'Sammy' Brenda Chapman, American animator and film director Brent Chapman, Canadian politician Brian Chapman (born 1968), Canadian ice hockey player Brian Chapman (businessman), British businessman Bruce K. Chapman (born 1940), American director and founder of the Discovery Institute, and Republican Party politician Bruce Chapman (Australian economist), architect of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme in Australia
C
Candace Chapman (born 1983), Canadian soccer player Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947), American woman's suffrage leader C.C. Chapman, American prominent figure in the community of podcasting, podsafe music, and new media C. H. Chapman (1879–1972), British illustrator and cartoonist, notable for his work on Billy Bunter cartoon strips Charles Chapman (disambiguation), several people Charles Chapman Grafton (1830–1912), American Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac in The Episcopal Church Charlotte Chapman (1762–1805), American-born English actress Chris Chapman (real tennis) (born 1985), Australian real tennis player Chris Chapman (rugby league), rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s Christine Chapman (born 1956), Welsh Labour Party politician Christopher Chapman (1927–2015), Canadian filmmaker Chuck Chapman (1911–2002), Canadian basketball player and Olympian Clarence Chapman (born 1953), American football player Colin Chapman (disambiguation), several people Connor Chapman (born 1994), Australian footballer Cornelius Chapman, British poet, songwriter, author, and performer
D
Damien Chapman, British rugby league player Dave Chapman (actor) (born 1973), British actor, television presenter, puppeteer and voice artist David Chapman (journalist) (born 1976), American journalist David Chapman (chemist) (1869–1958), English physical chemist David Chapman (cricketer) (1855–1934), English cricketer David Chapman (handballer), American handballer Dean Roden Chapman (1922–1995), American mechanical engineer at NASA and Stanford University Dick Chapman (1911–1978), American amateur golfer Dinos Chapman (born 1962), English conceptual artist Donald Chapman, Baron Northfield (1923–2013), British Labour Party politician and life peer Donovan Chapman, American country music artist Doug Chapman (stuntman), American stunt performer, actor and stunt coordinator Doug Chapman (American football) (born 1977), American football player Duane Chapman (born 1953), American Hawaii-based bail bondsman and bounty hunter
E
Ed Chapman (artist), British artist Eddie Chapman (1914–1997), British spy and double agent, aka Agent Zigzag Eddie Chapman (footballer) (1923–2002), English footballer and chairman Edgar Chapman (1838–1909), Australian brewer and businessman, owner of Theatre Royal, Adelaide Edmund Chapman (fl. 1733), English surgeon and man-midwife Edmund Chapman (cricketer) (1695–1763), English cricketer Edward Chapman (actor) (1901–1977), British comic actor Edward Chapman (solicitor) (1813–1894), English solicitor and civil servant, town clerk of Harwich Edward Chapman (British Army officer) (1840–1926), British Army officer Edward Chapman (politician) (1839–1906), British Conservative Party politician Edward Thomas Chapman (1920–2002), Welsh corporal and recipient of the Victoria Cross Edythe Chapman (1863–1948), American stage and silent film actress Elizabeth Chapman (1919–2005), British children's author
Emmett Chapman, British jazz musician best known as the inventor of the musical instrument Chapman Stick Ernest Chapman (1926–2013), Australian rower Eugenia S. Chapman (1923–1994), American educator and politician
F
Fern Schumer Chapman, American author Frank Chapman (ornithologist) (1864–1945), American ornithologist Frank Chapman (baseball) (1861–1937), American baseball player Frank Chapman (businessman), British businessman, chief executive of BG Group Fred Chapman (baseball) (1916–1997), American baseball player Freddie Spencer Chapman (1907–1971), British Army officer and World War II veteran Frederick Chapman (palaeontologist) (1864–1943), Australia Commonwealth Palaeontologist Frederick Chapman (footballer) (1883–1951), English footballer and Olympic Gold medalist Frederick Chapman (sportsman) (1901–1964), Australian cricketer and Australian Rules footballer Frederick Chapman (judge) (1849–1936), New Zealand Supreme Court Judge Frederick Chapman Robbins (1916–2003), American pediatrician and virologist Frederick William Chapman (1806–1876), American Congregational minister, educator, and genealogist Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721–1808), Swedish naval ship architect
G
Gareth Chapman (born 1981), Welsh rugby union player Gary Chapman (author), American relationship counselor and author of The Five Love Languages series Gary Chapman (swimmer) (1937–1978), Australian swimmer and Olympic bronze medalist Gary Chapman (musician) (born 1957), American singer/songwriter and former television talk show host George Chapman (1559–1634), English dramatist, translator, and poet George Chapman (Dubai) (1925–2023), British ports manager and consultant in Dubai George Chapman (murderer) (1865–1903), Polish serial killer, suspected by some as being Jack the Ripper. Born Seweryn Antonowicz Kłosowski George Chapman (healer) (1921–2006), British trance healer and medium George Chapman (party president) (born 1927), New Zealand accountant, businessman, and company director George Henry Chapman (1832–1882), American Civil War General in the Union Army George W. Chapman (politician), American lawyer and Democratic Party politician Georgina Chapman (born 1976), British fashion designer and actress Gerald Chapman (1891–1926), American criminal and gang leader of the Prohibition-era Gerald Chapman (director) (1949–1987), British theatre director Glenn Chapman (1906–1988), American baseball player Graham Chapman (1941–1989), British comedian and writer, member of Monty Python Grant Chapman (born 1949), Australian Liberal Party politician Grizz Chapman (1974–2026), American television actor, notable appearances in 30 Rock Guy Chapman (1889–1972), British author, historian and distinguished World War II soldier
H
Hank Chapman, American golden age comic book writer Harold Chapman (photographer) (1927–2022), English photographer, especially noted for pictures taken at the Beat Hotel