Cartwright
An occupational surname for a maker of carts or wagons.
The #1,626 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,935 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cartwright is an English occupational surname built from cart + wright. In Old English and Middle English, a wright was a craft worker or maker, so the name literally means “cart maker” or “wagon maker.” It belongs to the same family of trade surnames as Wheelwright and Wainwright.
History
The surname appears in medieval English records, including forms such as Robert le Cartwright. Like many craft-based surnames, it arose independently in several places where the occupation was common. It remained a transparent English trade name and has stayed in use into the modern period.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley notes that Cartwright can be grouped with other craft surnames like Arkwright, Wainwright, and Wheelwright.
From the historical record
“WAINWRIGHT \ (Eng.) Wagon - Maker, WAINEWRIGHTJ Cartwright, Wheel- wright [O.E. weB(g)n, awagon, cart, car- ' riage + wyrhta, a wright, maker] WAISTELL = Wastell, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Cartwright
- Nancy Cartwright (b. 1957)
- Mary Cartwright (1900–1998)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.