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Family name origins & meanings
- Muslim : from a personal name based on Arabic rạhmān ‘most gracious’, usually forming part of a compound name such as ‛Abd ur-Rạhmān ‘servant of the Most Gracious’. ur-Rạhmān (al-Rahman) ‘the Most Gracious’ is an attribute of Allah. ‛Abd ur-Rạhmān ibn ‛Awf was one of the Companions to whom the Prophet Muhammad gave the good news of entering into paradise. This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world.
- German (Rahmann) : variant of Rademann, topographic name from Low German Rade ‘area cleared of forest’, or a habitational name for someone from any of the places named Rade, from this word. Alternatively, it may be a habitational name for someone from Rahm (see Rahm 1).