What do these names have in common?
They are both occupations. Way back in the medieval period in England, people didn’t have “family” names, since there were few enough people around. They were often known by what they did in the community. John, the miller, who owned the flour mill by the river and accepted everyone’s grain to grind into flour. If there were ten people named John in the village, they were distinguished by their occupations so people didn’t get them mixed up. So you might have John the miller, and John the butcher. Eventually, when there were enough people around, those occupations became their last names, and their children had two names, a first name and a last name.
For a while now, I have, just for fun, been keeping a list of last names that are occupations. I’d love it if my followers could add names that I’ve missed. Here is what I have so far:
Smith (as in blacksmith), or Schmidt the German variation
Miller
Butcher
Baker
Chandler
Glover
Barker
Fletcher (makes arrows)
Driver
Shepherd (or Shepard)
Cooper (makes barrels)
Goldschmidt (goldsmith)
Farmer
Mercer (makes thread)
Fuller (processes cloth)
Pope
King
Fisher
Marshall, or Marshal
Mason (the Masonic order was made up of the specialized stonemasons who built early cathedrals)
Draper
Proctor
Carter
Cook
Collier (miner)
Miner
Porter
Glaser (makes windows)
Tanner
Palmer
Cantor
Singer
Provost
Taylor, or Tailor
Knight
Framer
Warden
Chancellor
Sailor, or Saylor
Weaver
Squire
Forrester
Carver
Steward, or Stewart
Planter
Harvester
Page
Carpenter
Hunter
Clark, or Clerk
Abbott
Potter
Archer
Buyer
Postman
Chamberlain
Falconer
Reeve
Roper
Shoemaker
