Falconer
An occupational surname for someone who kept or trained falcons for hunting.
The #9,440 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,595 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Falconer comes from the medieval occupation of tending, training, and hunting with falcons. The word is ultimately built on the falcon itself, from Old French forms such as faucon, with the occupational ending referring to the person who handled the bird. In Middle English and Anglo-Norman records, the name appears as a title or byname for someone employed in falconry.
History
The occupation was prestigious in the Middle Ages, especially among nobles and royal households, so the surname could reflect service in an elite household rather than a trade in the modern sense. Historical records show early spellings such as le Fauconer and related forms. The name also developed variants like Faulkner and Fauconer in English and Anglo-Norman contexts.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Falconry was so highly valued in medieval society that a lord’s falconer could be an important household officer, not just a bird keeper.
From the historical record
“badge of the house of York. FALCONER. FAL(^ONAR. One who pursued the sport of falconry, so much ad- mired in the middle ages, when a patrician was recognised by " his horse, his haAvk, and his greyhound." Kings and great men kept a state falconer, and in such estima- tion was the office held in Norman times that…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom