occupational surname
Job-based family name
An occupational surname derives from the work an ancestor performed.
Smith, Baker, Miller, Cooper, Taylor, and Carpenter all began as descriptions of what someone did for a living.
Most English occupational surnames crystallized in the Middle Ages, when "John the baker" became "John Baker." Her occupational surname suggests medieval ancestors in the cloth trade.
- smithMetal-shaping artisan
- bakerOne who makes bread
- millerGrain-grinding tradesperson
- cooperWooden vessel maker
- family nameHereditary portion of identity
trade name · fletcher · carter · mason · shepherd · weaver · carpenter · potter · fisher · hunter · fowler · tanner · sawyer · chandler · brewer · fuller · collier · thatcher
occupation, occupations, occupy, occupied, occupying, occupier, occupiers, occupancy, occupant