What ethnicity is the last name Freeman?

Question:i know its probably british, but what part of britain?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: i know its probably british, but what part of britain?

This is what www.ancestry.com has to say about the name.
Freeman
English: variant of Free.
Irish: Anglicized (‘translated’) form of Gaelic ó Saoraidhe (see Seery).
In New England, an English equivalent of French Foissy (see Foisy).
Translation of German Freimann (see Freiman).
Hope this helps.

american, black "free man"

English, Irish or African-American. Not all slaves took the surnames of their former masters. Some took "Freeman", "Cook", "Driver", "Gardner" or "Black", had drinking parties, then, when nature called, went up to the white folks graveyard to water the flowers around old Massa' Smiths's tombstone.

It might be Jewish, too; from "Friedman" or "Freidman" to "Freeman" is a flick of a pen for a clerk who should have listened a little more carefully.

English or Irish are the best bets. As for what particular part of Britain, it would depend on what particular family you are researching for. It is very difficult to say exactly what part of Britain the name comes from as it is from several different areas. There is also the chance that Freeman is the English version of Freeman in German (Ehrenbürger). So, you would have to look back and see the origin of the particular line you are hunting in order to know exactly where your line is from.

I have a jewish friend with that surname so maybe yiddish hehe

I'm thinking it's Saxon, and is what it is: a free man, that is, not a serf or indentured servant (pre-dates Black slavery by centuries).

It is English. A Free Man was a person who was not a villein or serf: that is not someone who was bound to work the land for some Norman nobleman for no wages. This usually meant he was person with a unique craft or trade.
The title still lives on today. A Freeman became a term for a tradesman who owned his own business and was a member of a Trade Guild or Livery Company and still does so. The term meant he was free to work in the City where the Guild or Company controlled trade - i.e . approved by them.
It now usually applies to more up market tradesmen than in days gone by.
In Britain celebrities are often awarded a symbolic key by Cities granting them "The Freedom". This makes them Honorary Free Men.