Business Cards: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker

Tracing the origin of your family name, you may be able to find out not only who your ancestors were but also what they were. In 12th-century England, when family names began to be used, people were identified by what they did as much as by what they were called. If a baker were named John, he became John Baker. A professional with a bow and arrow took the name Archer. Barber was the name given to a man who cut hair. Does your family name come from the work one of your relatives did long ago?

• Last Name: Barker
• Occupation: Shepherd
• Origin: Barker comes from the Norman word barches, meaning “shepherd,” the person who watches over a flock of sheep.

• Last Name: Black
• Occupation: Dyer
• Origin: Men named Black were cloth dyers who specialized in black dyes. In those days, all cloth was originally white, so it had to be dyed different colors.

• Last Name: Carter
• Occupation: Delivery person
• Origin: A person who drove a cart pulled by oxen, carrying goods from town to town, was named Carter.

• Last Name: Chamberlain
• Occupation: Personal servant
• Origin: Noblemen required servants to cook, clean, and generally care for their large estates. Chamberlains cleaned the chambers, or rooms, of a nobleman's home.

• Last Name: Chandler
• Occupation: Candlemaker
• Origin: The French word chandelier refers to a person who makes candles.

• Last Name: Cooke
• Occupation: Cook
• Origin: The name Cook was given to people who made their living cooking for others. The e in Cooke was added to disguise the name's meaning.

• Last Name: Cooper
• Occupation: Barrelmaker
• Origin: Cooper was the name for someone who made wooden barrels.

• Last Name: Fisher
• Occupation: Fisherman
• Origin: People named Fisher were professional fishermen.

• Last Name: Gardiner
• Occupation: Gardener
• Origin: This is a variation of the Norman word gardinier, which means a gardener, a person who cares for plants and lawns.

• Last Name: Hansard
• Occupation: Swordmaker
• Origin: Hansard in French means “a long, pointed sword.” Swordmakers were given this name to identify their craft.

• Last Name: Kellogg
• Occupation: Slaughterer
• Origin: Kellogg was a nickname for a pork butcher. Its literal meaning is “kill hog.”

• Last Name: Kemp (Kempe)
• Occupation: Wrestler
• Origin: These were unusually strong fellows who wrestled for a living. The name comes from the Old English word cempa, meaning “warrior.”

• Last Name: Leach
• Occupation: Doctor
• Origin: Leach comes from the word laece, meaning “doctor.” Medieval doctors also used blood-sucking worms called leeches on their patients. They believed these worms would purify the patients' blood and rid them of disease.

• Last Name: Parker
• Occupation: Park keeper
• Origin: Noblemen often kept beautiful parks on their estates. Watchmen, or “parkers,” guarded the parks from outsiders.

• Last Name: Smith
• Occupation: Metalworker
• Origin: Anyone who worked with metal was called a smith. This name was originally a friendly nickname referring to the person or his business. Eventually it became one of the most popular English names.

• Last Name: Stone
• Occupation: Stoneworker
• Origin: Stone is the nickname for someone who worked with stone, a mason or stonecutter.

• Last Name: Wall
• Occupation: Mason
• Origin: Wall was the name given to a special kind of mason, one who had great speed and skill in building straight wall structures.