Submitted Surname Revision History

Of Norman origin, a habitational or regional name from Old French mansel ‘inhabitant of Le Mans or the surrounding area of Maine’. The place was originally named in Latin (ad) Ceromannos, from the name of the Gaulish tribe living there, the Ceromanni. The name was reduced to Celmans and then became Le Mans as a result of the mistaken identification of the first syllable with the Old French demonstrative adjective.