Origin of surnames

Okay; this is starting to get weird. I knew gals surnamed Raper and Honeyman in high school (no Goatmen - er, Goatmans; but that reminds me of the rather odd name Oatman).

In my eternal quest to champion the name Fishmonger, I stole a page from Ice Wolf and ran the thing by Rootweb’s surname list. Nada. Were it not for that durned Paul Fishmonger of Wisconsin, I’d declare myself a winner.

And if he went to seminary, he could be Father Raper. :smiley:
How about executioner, hangman, killer?

Thanks, I did not know those were derived from “healer”.

Lots of UK folk named Killer. (“Kil” or “Kill” being linked in with the Danes, IIRC.)

A Molokan name Mechnikov, meaning “swordsman” but also “executioner” ('cause of the sword bit, I’d say.)

It might not count (being French) but there is at least one family Cardinal in Quebec (the education minister in the late 70s/early 80s was Jean-Guy Cardinal).
I once knew a family named Doctor.
In general, I don’t think the learned professions generated surnames. I have never heard of a Mathematician, Magician, Astronomer (or Astrologer), (Al)chemist, Philosopher, or the like.
And one of the more unusual names I have run across is Groundwater.

Then there is Thomas Crapper.

But that was his name before he invented the flush toilet, yes? And the word “crap” referring to feces or the act of voiding the bowels exited already. So his surname was an unfortunate coincidence or possibly his inspiration! Or maybe he came from a long line of sanitary engineers! :smiley:

A guy at work comes from an ethnic group in India that didn’t have surnames. So his grandfather chose a name for his profession…“Engineer”.

Once again this stems from misunderstanding that the names of professions change over time.

My local phone book lists 3 Maguses, 6 Vizards and 2 Magles. To that list you can also add Magister, Mages and several other variations, so these names have certainly not vanished.

There were no profesisonal mathematicians or philosophers at this time in history. People employed to tally objects and sort money were a Clerk or a Counter, both common enough names. People such as Descartes needed to belong to aristocratic families simply to exist. Such people didn’t need surnames, they already had them.

Astronomers and Alchemists were largely lumped together with wizards and maguses. These really weren’t distinct professions.

Add Roy (also as a first name), and Royal (like Ségolène Royal, the French candidate to the presidency)

At least his name isn’t Dr. Spaceman.

I’m waiting to see an SF novel or short story where a character’s name is something like Melvin Astronaut …

Another name for a maker of shoes was Cordwainer.

So that’s what a cordwainer was (I had a few ancesters with that occupation).

Dictionary says the “cord” is short for cordovan leather, apparently a common shoe leather in days of yore.

Been done: Luke Skywalker (Luke Starkiller in the original scripts).

My favorite name ever, from my time in the Solomon Islands, was a man named

Opportunity Civilisation Kuku (pronounced “coocoo”)

I didn’t know if it was really a name, or a comment on the modern world. Everyone called him “Oppo” …

w.

Yes, but that’s a translation into the Star Wars universe. I’m waiting to see something from ours. As I think you, or someone else has said – original terms for occupations change. Some depending on period, others language, and others – which universe you’re in. :slight_smile:

Hmm. If I took my job as a surname I’d be “Peter Planner.” No thank you. Especially there already is a man named Peter Planner who IS a planner.

Architect?
Artist/Painter?

Not only have I seen the name Painter, I once heard of a guy with the snicker-producing name Dick Painter (we couldn’t decide if that was an avocation or an unusual tool used for painting).