Scully - scholar, Sherman - shearsman, Stewart - sty warden, Thatcher - roofer, Tillman, Tyler - roof tiler Palmer - pilgrim, Parker - gamekeeper, Porter - doorkeeper, Sawyer - carpenter, Schumacher - shoemaker Keeler - bargeman, Kemp - athlete, wrestler, Lardner - keeper of the cupboard, Marshall - keeper of horses, Mercer - merchant Your moniker could be in the list:īailey - bailiff, Clark - clerk, Cohen - priest, Coleman, Collier - coal miner Ĭrocker - potter, Faulkner - falconer, Fletcher - arrow maker, Hayward - keeper of fences, Inman - innkeeper Here are 30 additional surnames paired with the occupations they subtly signify. Webber means “a man who weaves,” Webster “a woman who weaves.” Brewer signifies “a man who brews,” Brewster “a woman who brews.” Dyer is the last name of “a man who dyes cloth,” Dexter the last name of “a woman who dyes cloth.” Baker, of course, denotes “a man who bakes,” while Baxter denotes “a woman who bakes.” If your surname is Cooper, you have an ancestor who made barrels, if Hooper, your ancestor made hoops for those barrels. Lederer means “leather worker,” the German equivalent of Tanner and Skinner. Other surnames are not so easily recognized but, with some thought and research, yield up their occupational origins. It is easy to trace the occupational origins of surnames such as Archer, Barber, Bowman, Brewer, Butler, Carpenter, Carver, Cook, Draper, Farmer, Fisher, Forester, Fowler, Gardener, Hunter, Mason, Miller, Piper, Potter, Sadler, Sheppard, Shoemaker, Skinner, Tanner, Taylor, Weaver and Wheeler. Versions of Tailor (Taylor) include Schneider, Sarto, Sastre, Snyder, Szabo, Kravitz, Hiatt, Portnoy and Terzl. International variations on Smith include Smythe, Schmidt, Smed, Smitt, Faber, Ferrer, Ferrier, Ferraro, Lefebvre, Kovacs, Manx, Goff and Gough. Three common expressions that we inherit from the art of blacksmithery are “strike while the iron is hot,” “too many irons in the fire” and “go at it hammer and tongs.” ![]() And it is no wonder when you consider that the village smith, who made and repaired all objects of metal, was the most important laborer in the community. In the telephone directories of the world’s English-speaking cities, Smith, which means “worker,” is the most popular last name by a wide margin over its nearest competitors, Jones and Johnson (both of which are patronymics, “son of John”). The largest category of surnames began as descriptions of the work people did. Your name is probably one of these if it begins with Mc, Mac, O’ or Fitz, all of which mean “son of,” or ends with son, sen, ov or ovich. ![]() ![]() Other names are patronymics and matronymics, family names derived from a parent or ancestor. One who refused to consume alcohol might have picked up the name Drinkwater, a man of great strength Armstrong and a loyal friend Truman. Some of these surnames began life as descriptions of a person’s coloring - Black, Brown, White, Reid (Red) size - Small, Little, Longfellow geography - Churchill, Rivers, York or personal qualities - Smart, Wise, Strong, Swift.
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