English: occupational name for a keeper of swine, Middle
English foreman, from Old English for ‘hog’, ‘pig’ +
mann ‘man’.
English: status name for a leader or spokesman
for a group, from Old English fore ‘before’, ‘in front’ +
mann ‘man’. The word is attested in this sense from the 15th
century, but is not used specifically for the leader of a gang of
workers before the late 16th century.
Czech and Jewish
(from Bohemia, Moravia): occupational name for a carter, Czech
forman, a loanword from German.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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