Fuller
An occupational surname for a cloth worker who thickened and cleansed woolen cloth.
The #281 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,804 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Fuller comes from Middle English le fuller / le fullere, meaning a person who fulled cloth. To full cloth was to clean, thicken, and strengthen it by beating and working it in water or other fulling agents. The occupational term ultimately goes back to Latin fullo, a word for a cloth fuller or scourer.
History
This is a classic English occupational surname, already appearing in medieval records with spellings such as Le Fuller and Le Fullere. It spread widely in England because cloth working was a major trade in many towns and villages. The name also traveled to Scotland and beyond, and it remains common in the English-speaking world today.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same trade also produced related surnames like Tucker and Walker in some districts, because fulling was a distinct stage in preparing cloth.
From the historical record
“An amorous person — " full of love "'? FULLER. One who thickens and whitens cloth. The H.E. forms of the name are Le Fuller and Le Fullere, and the latinization Fullo. FULLERTOX. FULLARTON. Ful- larton is a burgh and estate at Irvine in Ayrshire, to which place the family is traced in 1371. B.L.G. FULLJA^IES. A…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Fuller
- Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983)
- Margaret Fuller (1810–1850)
- Thomas Fuller (1608–1661)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.