Tasman is a rare

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

of Dutch people. The distribution of people with the surname varies from about 6000 in Indonesia to small numbers in Australia and New Zealand, while by 2007 only seven people with the name lived in the Netherlands. The most notable bearer of this name was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman.

Origin

Cornelis Gerritsz Tasman of

Schellinkhout Schellinkhout ( West Frisian: ''Skellinkhout'') is a village located in the municipality of Drechterland, North Holland at the border of the IJsselmeer, about 3 km southeast of Hoorn in West-Frisia. It received city rights in 1402, among ...

was an early 17th century skipper on the 140-ton ship ''De Tas'', literally "the bag". At the time it was common for ship captains to adopt the name of their ships. The family Tas or Tasman - not related to Abel Janszoon Tasman, who came from Lutjegast in Groningen - counted so many seamen in the late 1600s that their ships were divided in color: ''De Zwarte Tas'' ("black bag") of Jan Tasman, ''De Groene Tas'' ("green bag") of Pieter Janszoon Tasman, ''De Roode Tas'' ("red bag") of Pieter Corneliszoon Tasman and ''De Witte Tas'' (white bag) of Wigger Tasman."Archiving" page on West Friesian Society websit

viewed 2017-11-08 The name Tasman could also be related to the German surname Tessmann, which is made of the Slavic 'tešiti', meaning 'consolation' and the German 'Mann'.

People

People with the name include: ; surname * Abel Tasman (1603–1659), Dutch explorer *

Marc Tasman Marc Tasman (born 1971) is an American Intermedia, Intermedia artist who works in a variety of Media (arts), media, including interactive art, performance art, video art, and photography. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wis ...

(born 1971), American multimedia artist *

William Tasman Dr. William Tasman (1929–2017) an American ophthalmologist, was the ophthalmologist-in-chief at Wills Eye Hospital His work had a profound impact on the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). He served as the president of the ...

(1929-2017), American ophthalmologist ; given name *

Raymond Tasman Donoghue Raymond Tasman Donoghue GC (10 December 1920 – 29 April 1960) was an Australian tram driver posthumously awarded the George Cross for the gallantry he displayed in Hobart, Tasmania. His date of birth is recorded as December 1920, however ...

(1920–1960), Australian tram driver * Lindsay Tasman Ride (1898–1977), Australian physiologist, soldier and Vice Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong *

Tasman Drake The Rev. William Tasman Drake (2 December 1884 – 15 April 1946) was an Anglican clergyman and cricketer in New Zealand. Life and clerical career Tasman Drake was born in Hobart, Tasmania, but his family moved to New Zealand, and he was educate ...

(1884–1946), New Zealand Anglican clergyman and cricketer *

Tasman Forth Alexander Rud Mills (1885 – 8 April 1964) was an Australian barrister and author, interned in 1942 for his Nazi sympathies and fascist beliefs. He was also a prominent Odinist, one of the earliest proponents of the rebirth of Germanic Neopaga ...

(1885–1964), Australian Odinist *

Tasman Heyes Sir Tasman Hudson Eastwood "Tas" Heyes (6 November 189625 June 1980) was a senior Australian public servant and policymaker. He was Secretary of the Department of Immigration between May 1946 and November 1961. Life and career Tasman Heyes joi ...

(1896–1980), Australian public servant *

Tasman Higgins Tasman Higgins (8 April 1888 – 4 June 1953) was an Australian cinematographer during the early days of the Australian film industry, working for such directors as Charles Chauvel, Raymond Longford, Beaumont Smith, Louise Lovely and Rupert Kath ...

(1888–1953), Australian cinematographer *

Tasman Keith Tasman Keith is an Australian rapper and singer-songwriter. Early life Tasman Keith is a Gumbaynggirr man from Bowraville, New South Wales. At age seven, Tasman and his family moved from Bowraville to Sydney for his father's music. His dad wa ...

, Australian rapper *

Tasman Knight Tasman Knight (20 November 1906 – 22 October 1987) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Austr ...

(1906–1987), Australian rules footballer *

Tasman Long Thomas Tasman Thompson Long (11 September 1875 – 20 October 1926) was an Australian cricketer. He played in four first-class matches for Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_captio ...

(1875–1926), Australian cricketer * Tasman Joseph McKee (1911–1973), New Zealand chemist and geologist *

Tasman Roberts Albert Tasman Roberts (18 August 1901 – 9 April 1942) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Originally recruited from Prahran in the Victorian Football Associa ...

(1901–1942), Australian rules footballer *

Tasman Shields Tasman Shields (20 November 1872 – 28 August 1950) was an Australian politician. He was born in Launceston. In 1915 he was elected to the Tasmanian Legislative Council as an independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, e ...

(1872–1950), Australian politician

References

{{surname Surnames of Dutch origin Lists of people by surname