Home › Words › L › lettermanlettermanletterman means A surname from German.EtymologyVariant of German Lettermann.nameA surname from German.nounA student who has attained a specified level of participation in a sporting or other activity, and is awarded a cloth “letter” to be affixed to an item of clothing.e.g.“The children seem to catch their enthusiasm from the energetic instructors, ten of them former lettermen at Kansas universities.” — 1967, United States Office of Education, Stepping Up with PACE, page 12:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).