Hyndman is a surname and may refer to:
- Chris Hyndman
- Clint Hyndman
- George Crawford Hyndman
- Henry Mayers Hyndman (1842–1921), socialist theoretician
- Rob J. Hyndman (1967-), statistician
- Robert Stewart Hyndman (1915-), painter
The surname Hyndman can be found anywhere in the world where the British Empire had colonies or the British Empire's armies operated. The surname is Scottish in origin and is believed to derive from either of two meanings associated with the following accepted spellings of the word; Hynd, (OE) Hind, and (ME) Hynde. First, a Hynd (or Hyind, Hine, Hyne) is a female red deer commonly found in Scotland. References to this can be found in Scottish historical works dated from 1424 (Scottish Language Bible, Acts II, 6:1) and 1574 (Reg. Morton I. 80). From this definition it has been assumed that Hyndman has meant "Hunter" or "Game Warden" or "Huntsman" by extrapolating that if a Hynd is a deer, than a Hynd man, might be a person who hunter or tended deer. This capitalizes on the English surname tradition of adopting surnames that describe the profession of the individual. From this analysis the meaning of archer can be derived. As romantic as such a meaning would seem, it has no basis in the historical records.
The second Scottish definition for Hynd is a more likely candidate for it refers specifically to a profession of the person and not the object of the profession (e.g., James the Farmer would be likely become James Farmer, or Farmerman, rather than James Farm, or Farmman).
As early as 1520, the Scottish referred to a Hynd, of (ME) Hyne (c.1205) as a farm servant or farm worker. In modern Scottish usage a Hynd is a "married and skilled farm workman, for whom a cottage is provided on the farm...; he has the charge of a pair of horses and a responsible part in the working of the farm. He ... ranks above the farm-servants and labourers." See generally, Foulis Acc. Bk. 119, 174, and the Dictionary of the Scottish Language.
Hyndman is associated with the lowland Scottish region south and southwest of Glasgow, in both Ayrshire and Rensfrewshire. The Hyndman family clan tartan is a general tartan created in 1824 for those unaligned families in Ayrshire. The Hyndman family motto is "True as the Dial is to the Sun" and its coat of arms shows the sun rising over a sundial on a field of blue and white.
The name first appeared in the early 16th century on the coast near or in Dublin among fishermen. Hyndmans in Northern Ireland can be found mainly in Antrim County.
There is a Hyndman Peak in Idaho, USA. There is the town of Hyndman, Pennsylvania, USA. There is a significant concentration of Hyndman's living in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
The name can also be spelled and pronounced as Hindman or Hynmen.