On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 11 pipers piping.
For some reason, this made me think of people whose last names originated from their professions. I found this list on a crazy site called Name Nerds. It’s long, but you may find it interesting. For a more detailed explanation and etymologies of many surnames, try The Internet Surname Database. (Their tag line is “Our database contains 49,352 last names from Smith to Smiley and Aaron to Zywicki.” My apologies if they don’t have yours yet.)
| Name | Job Description |
| Archer | archer |
| Bacchus | worked in a bake house |
| Bailey | bailiff |
| Barber | cut hair; surgeon |
| Barker | worked with bark for the leather trade, shepherd |
| Baxter | female baker |
| Bekker | made wooden vessels |
| Bender | made casks and barrels |
| Berger | shepherd |
| Boatwright | made boats |
| Bowman | archer |
| Brewer | brewed ale |
| Brewster | female brewer |
| Butler | wine steward |
| Campion | pro fighter; champion |
| Cantrell | singer in a chantry |
| Carpenter | carpenter |
| Carrin | made carts |
| Carter | made or sold carts, transported goods |
| Cartwright | made carts |
| Carver | sculptor |
| Cater | supplied goods to a large household |
| Century | belt maker |
| Chafer | lime kiln worker |
| Chaffer | merchant |
| Chalker | white washer |
| Challender | sold blankets |
| Chamberlain | in charge of private chambers |
| Chambers | in charge of private chambers |
| Chandler | candle maker |
| Chaplin | chaplain |
| Chapman | merchant/peddler |
| Cheeseman | made and sold cheese |
| Cheesewright | made and sold cheese |
| Cherrier | worked in a cherry orchard |
| Chessman | made and sold cheese |
| Clark | clerk |
| Cleaver | either worked in a butcher shop or split wood |
| Coldren | made large cooking pots |
| Coleman | gathered charcoal |
| Collier | sold charcoal |
| Conner | inspected for weights and measures |
| Cook | cook |
| Cooper | made barrels |
| Cotter | tenant farmer |
| Crowther | played the crwth, a medieval stringed instrument (Welsh) |
| Day | worker in a dairy |
| Dexter | female dyer |
| Drage | confectioner |
| Draper | maker/seller of woolen cloth |
| Dyer | dyed cloth |
| Dyster | female dyer |
| Falconer | kept and trained falcons |
| Farrar | smith |
| Faulkner | kept and trained falcons |
| Fearson | ironmonger/smith |
| Fisher | fisherman |
| Fiske | sold fish |
| Flax | sold or grew flax |
| Fletcher | made arrows |
| Foal | fool; jester |
| Forester | guardian of lord’s forest |
| Foster | guardian of lord’s forest |
| Fowler | keeper/catcher of birds |
| Frobisher | polished swords and armor |
| Fuller | thickened cloth by trampling |
| Gage | inspected for weights and measures |
| Gardner, Gardiner | tended gardens |
| Glover | made gloves |
| Graves | steward |
| Hammer | made stone hammers |
| Harper | played or made harps |
| Hayward | guarded fences or enclosures |
| Heard | shepherd or cow herd |
| Hinman | keeper of deer on an estate |
| Hogg | swine herd |
| Hooper | fitted metal hoops to barrels and casks |
| Hunter | hunter |
| Inman | innkeeper |
| Kantor | singer in a chantry (chapel) |
| Kellogg | slaughterer [KC – specifically pig butcher] |
| Key | made keys |
| Killer | lime kiln worker |
| King | servant to a king |
| Kisser | armor maker |
| Knight | knight; any military servant; young servant to a knight |
| Lander | laundry worker |
| Leadbetter | lead worker |
| Lister | cloth dyer |
| Lorimer | made spurs |
| Lush | usher |
| Machin | mason; stoneworker |
| Marshall | in charge of horses |
| Mason | mason; stoneworker |
| Mercer | merchant, esp. of fine cloths (silk, velvet etc.) |
| Miller, Milner | miller |
| Mulliner, Mills | miller |
| Nader | tailor |
| Naylor | made and sold nails |
| Page, Paige, Paget | young male servant |
| Palmer | a pilgrim |
| Parker | gamekeeper |
| Parson | parson; rector |
| Piper | played or made pipes |
| Plummer | plumber; lead worker |
| Potter | potter |
| Proctor | tax collector; solicitor; steward |
| Provost | supervisor on a lord’s manor |
| Purcell | swine herd |
| Redman | roof thatcher |
| Rock | spun wool; made distaffs [KC – distaff: stick or staff onto which flax or wool is wound for spinning] |
| Rocker | spun wool; made distaffs |
| Ryder | delivered messages on horseback |
| Sadler | made saddles |
| Salter | salt worker or salt seller |
| Sargent | military servant |
| Sawyer | sawed wood |
| Schneider | tailor |
| Schreiber | clerk |
| Scully | town crier |
| Seal/Seales | maker of seals or saddles |
| Sexton | maintained churches; dug graves |
| Shepherd | shepherd |
| Shields | armorer |
| Singer | singer |
| Skinner | tanned hides |
| Skipper | ship master |
| Smith, Smythe | smith |
| Smoker | made smocks |
| Snyder | tailor (Dutch) |
| Soppner | roofing shingle maker |
| Spencer | dispensed lord’s provisions |
| Spicer | sold spices |
| Spittle | hospital worker |
| Stanier, Stonier | stone cutter |
| Steele | steel worker |
| Stewart | steward |
| Stringer | made strings for bows |
| Tabor | played the tabor (small drum) |
| Tanner | tanned hides |
| Tasker | did piece-work |
| Taverner | tavern keeper |
| Taylor | tailor |
| Thatcher | thatched roofs |
| Tiller | farmer |
| Tillman | farmer or tile maker |
| Todd | fox hunter |
| Toller | toll collector |
| Trainer | trapper |
| Tranter | wagoner [KC – contracted for transporting goods; traveler] |
| Trapp | trapper |
| Travers | toll bridge keeper |
| Trinder | wheel maker |
| Trotter | messenger |
| Tucker | cloth worker |
| Turner | made small objects by turning them on a lathe |
| Tyler | made tiles |
| Tyrer | wardrobe master |
| Voss | servant |
| Walker | shrunk woolen cloth |
| Waller | built walls |
| Ward | watchman; guard |
| Warf | dock worker |
| Warner, Warrer | in charge of wildlife at a park |
| Wayne | wheel maker |
| Webb | weaver |
| Webster | female weaver |
| Woodward | forester |
| Wright | [KC – maker of machinery and small objects; craftsman] |
Kara Church
Senior Technical Editor
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