The first element of the name Duckmanton is an Old English (OE) personal name of Ducemann. Suggestions by informed sources are that Ducemann derives from an OE du-ce-mann, being a man who keeps ducks, or from an OE Ducc(a)-mann, meaning Duc(c)a's man. An analysis of the recorded meanings of OE 'mann' supports the latter interpretation. A third possibility is that the name may derive from an early form of the Middle English compound Du-che-man, meaning a German.

The surname Duckmanton is of locale or habitation origin being one of those names which is derived from the place name where the original bearer lived or held land. In this instance there's a village called Duckmanton near the town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. The village of Duckmanton was first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Wills of 1002 as 'Ducemaunestun', and later appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Dochmanestun'. 'Tun' is an OE term meaning 'enclosure' or 'settlement'. Hence the original village would have been 'Ducemann's settlement' or 'the settlement of Ducemann's people'.

Later, various people known by just one name (like Madonna or Cher) who owned or held Duckmanton (the place) were referred to as so-and-so of Duckmanton. The earliest recorded instance that I am aware of being 'Gervais de Barnston of Colston-Basset and Duckmanton' who died in 1155 leaving the lands of Barnston and Colston-Basset to his son Richard while Duckmanton passed to another of his sons Robert who thus became 'Robert de Duckmanton'.

Over time the 'de' was dropped I guess and folk just became plain old Fred Duckmanton.