by Anneza (guest)
10/30/2003, 10:58 PM
Can't help you with Yemen, I'm afraid - perhaps you could try their local Embassy or consulate.
A yeoman was a prosperous peasant farmer in medieval England, and the word is also used for the soldiers in those wonderful red and gold uniforms who guard the Tower of London - they are informally called Beefeaters, but their real job title is Yeomen of the Guard (and there's a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta with the same name).
Yeoman seems to have meant "young man" once, but that meaning soon got lost; however, the good qualities of a young man - his physical strength and energy - live on in the modern meanings.
I've never heard it as a given name, but why not?