History with it's flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct it's themes, to revive it's echoes and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days.
Sir Winston Churchill
" Herman is from the Germanic given name composed of the elements Heri, Hari=army + man = man. Harman is the French cognate of the name, and Harmon is the English cognate (of Norman origin). The name Herman(n) is of ancient Saxon Baptismal origin and was first adopted as a patronymic by the sons of one so called. Used as a first name it meant "Man of the Army".
Hermann, an ancient deity of the German race, was equivalent to Mercury of Roman mythology. The Latin historian Tacitus recorded the name of the leader of the Cherusci as the first bearer of the name, in the 1st century AD. Numerous variants, cognates and diminutive forms exist as well. The German name of Herman(n) was changed to Harman or Harmon after the arrival of families to America. In the New England states the form, Harmon, seems to have been preferred and the same seems to be true in northern and western states generally, while in the southern states, especially in Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, the form, Harman, appears to have been preferred."
In New Ulm, MN stands The Hermann Monument which was erected in 1897 and was built in memory of this ancient Teutonic hero, Hermann (Arminius, as the Romans called him) or Cherusi. Hermann is honored as the liberator of Germany and the father of German independence. Hermann the German may be seen by clicking on link below:
Hermann the German
Philip Francis Nowlin, in the Washington Evening Star of August 4, 1922, says: .....the name is a compound of two old basic Teutonic words, 'eor', a word denoting divinity in pre-Christian days, and 'man' signifying humanity. Thus the word came to denote 'devine humanity', which was the nearest method the
old Teutons had of signifying 'brotherhood of man', or 'the general public', and became to be used later to denote a soldier or 'guardian' of the people. Afterward it came to be used as a personal name. The ancient 'eor', of course, is the basis of the modern German, 'Herr', meaning variously, 'Lord', 'Sir', or 'Mr.', and it is regarded possible, though not likely, that in some instances the German forms of Hermann, Herrman and Herrmann developed from this rather than the given name."
The name Hermann, Herman, Herrmann, meaning a war-man, is further defined as one who is valiant; lord-man; master-man, one who subdues; Anglo-Saxon man; mann the man, the lord, or chief, who wields the lance.
A Teutonic family name signifies something more than a mere name. In German, the letter "e" is generally pronounced the same as "a" in our language. The transition of the Germanic name, Hermann, to the Americanized Harman or Harmon was, therefore, an easy and quite natural evolution. While our spelling of the name differs from the original, the sound remains the same.
Adapted from Harman-Harmon Genealogy and Biography with Historical Notes by John William Harmon, 1981.
