Interesting Name Facts with Julie Hackett
First Names from Occupational Surnames
Back in the day - around the 11th century - as the concentration of given names grew denser, the monarchy needed a way to distinguish among the many Johns, Roberts and Williams in a village - so that he could tax them properly. So, men were given identifiers, one of which was their occupation. That way, everyone knew who John (the) Baker vs. John (the) Miller.
Surnames began to be used as given names around the 17th century, usually as a way of carrying forward an important family name of power and prestige. In America, the southern states have the longest tradition of using surnames as first name. This trend went mainstream in the late 20th century, and now the Top 100 name lists for both girls and boys are filled with surnames.
๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป (ranked # 11) - The mason was a ๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ who built castles, churches and cathedrals.
๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 33) - The carter ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐.
๐๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 69) - this surname was actually given to both men of the aristocracy (those who ๐ต๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ for sport and recreation) as well as a working-class man who hunted small game for food.
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 74) - The cooper ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ used in the preservation of dry goods and liquid products -- especially ale, a staple of every Englishman's diet 
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 95) - the parker was basically a medieval ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ. He oversaw large tracts of land set aside by the monarchy or wealthy landowners for the sport of hunting.
๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 116) - the sawyer was a ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ-๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ. It took two sawyers to cut a giant felled log. One who cut from above, and the other who had the dirtier job of cutting from the hole dug underneath. They gave us the terms ๐ง๐ผ๐ฝ ๐๐ผ๐ด and ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ด.
The ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 423) was the ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ of the Middle Ages. It was his job to guard the gate of a large castle or fortified town. The first known surname-bearer (Milo Portarius) guarded the gate at Winchester Castle 1,000 years ago!
๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 160) โ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป. In medieval times, those who were skilled with the longbow were greatly valued as protectors of their countrymen.
๐ฅ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 108) โ This was a surname given to an English knight, โone who rides,โ used specifically for a ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ-๐บ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ (it was later replaced with Olde English cniht โknightโ).
๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป (ranked # 228) โ this medieval Anglo-Saxon surname described a man whose job it was to watch over animals, particularly a ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฑ, from Olde English ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ โto guard.โ Thanks to J.D. Salinger's 1951 coming-of-age novel, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐บ๐ฆ, multiple generations of readers have taken this name into their hearts forever.
๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 569), the ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐, was a โmaker or seller of candlesโ (also someone who managed the lighting of an estate, castle or monastery). Super critical job since candles were the only light source of the Middle Ages!
๐๐ผ๐ต๐ฒ๐ป (ranked # 282) โ this common Jewish surname means โ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐,โ which is a hereditary title passed down from father to son, all of whom are descended from Aaron (it is different than a rabbi). God calls the whole of Israel cohens: โAnd ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests.โ (Exodus 19:6).
Traditionally, โsurnames-as-first-namesโ were used for boys. However, that all changed in the 21st century. Surnames are increasingly more common for girls โ hereโs a look at some of the most popular occupational ones.
๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 10) - Harper is an artistic surname, from a musical occupation. The โ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ held a lofty position because the small pluck harp was a favorite of all the instruments. Its use has been influenced by ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ, author of the iconic American novel ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฃ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ (1960).
๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ (ranked # 21) โ interestingly, the surname Scarlet(t) signified one in the trade of โ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ต,โ from Old French escarlate, โtop-quality fabricโ (itโs also used to describe a brilliant color of red). Katie ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ขโ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ, the heroine of ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ (1936), made it a household name.
๐ฆ๐ธ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ (ranked # 63) โ This is an anglicization of the Dutch surname Schuyler โ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น;โ given to a scholar or schoolteacher. It was popularized by Revolutionary War hero Philip Schuyler (1733-1804).
๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 91) โ The โ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ is another musical occupation, evolving from Olde English ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฑ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ โto play on a pipe,โ borrowed from Latin ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ, quite charmingly, โ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ, ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฝ.โ Everyone follows the enchantment of her music.
๐ง๐ฎ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฟ (ranked # 161) โ The โtailorโ comes from Anglo-Norman ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ณ โcutter;โ the job for one who cut, altered and repaired clothes. It was this occupation that gave birth to our concept of โ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ผ๐ปโ (mid-14th century), since it was the tailor who gave form and shape to a person through the cutting and design of clothes.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ (ranked # 128) - - the parker was basically a medieval ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ. They oversaw large tracts of land set aside by the monarchy or wealthy landowners for the sport of hunting.
Here are three more girly occupational surnames that started out as masculine.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ: ranked # 273. In Medieval England, a Page was essentially a "๐๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐-๐ถ๐ป-๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด," from Old French ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ, literally, โyouth preparing to be a knight;โ from Medieval Latin ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ถ๐ด โservantโ and Greek ฯฮฑฮนฮดฮนฮฟฮฝ โlittle boy, lad.โ A "page" was a young boy who, starting around the age of seven, served a lord or knight for seven years before being promoted to a โsquireโ and eventually achieving the lofty position of a knight himself. Today, a page is used with gender-neutrality, describing an errand boy or girl (usually in a legislative capacity). Despite its rather masculine origins, this occupational surname came into regular use as a female first name in the early 1950s and it got as high as #47 on the charts in 2003.
๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป: ranked #192 - an anglicization of an Irish-Gaelic clan name ร ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฉ๐จรก๐ช๐ฏ, from Old Irish ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฉ๐จรก๐ฏ, quite charmingly, โ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฒ๐.โ As custodians of all ancient oral traditions, the poets and storytellers were among the highest ranking members of early Irish societies (it was the role of such esteemed poets to guide and sustain Irish society through the wise and magical power of their words). Though most of the poets were male, ancient Celtic law did allow women to participate in all the same professional occupations as men, such as warriors, law-givers and poets.
Bailey: ranked #171 - From the occupation of a ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ, from Old French ๐ฃ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช โmanager;โ from Latin ๐ฃ๐ข๐ช๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ถ๐ด โofficial in charge of a castle.โ Prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, the Anglo-Saxonโs word for the bailiff is found in the Olde English ๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ข (โ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณโ) describing a representative of royal authority in a shire, โa kingโs officer.โ The term was replaced with bailiff post-Conquest after the Normans introduced the feudal system into England, when the role changed to โan agent of a lord, overseer of an estate.โ As a female forename, Bailey came into familiar use in the 1980s and reached as high as #60 on the charts in 1998.
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