The surname of ACKERMAN was an occupational name 'the Acreman' a ploughman, a tiller of the soil, a farmer. Most of the occupations or professions reflected in family names are those known in the small villages in Europe, or those followed in a king's or important noble's household, or in some large religious house or monastery. During the middle ages much of Europe was composed of small villages, and the occupations would be used to describe the bearer. The name was originally derived from the Old German AKERMANN, and was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066, with William the Conqueror. Early records of the name mention Roger le Acreman, 1273, County Oxford. Alexander Acherman, County Huntingdonshire, ibid. Hugh Akerman of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. A later instance of the name include John Sandford and Mary Ackerman who were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in the year 1802. The name has many variant spellings which include Ackermann, Akerman and Akermann. As early as the year 1100, it was quite common for English people to give French names to their children, and the earliest instances are found among the upper classes, both the clergy and the patrician families. The Norman-French names used were generally the names most commonly used by the Normans, who had introduced them into England during the Norman Invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Registered at London and Surrey. Granted to Isaac Akerman on 20th May 1761. A notable member of the name was Rudolph ACKERMANN (1764-1834) the German art publisher, born in Saxony. In 1795 he opened a print shop in London, and set published a well-known set of coloured engravings of London. He is said to have introduced lithography as a fine art into England.