Reader
An English occupational surname for a thatcher or reed-worker.
The #9,780 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,192 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained from Middle English reder or rederie, referring to a person who worked with reeds. The older form is linked to Old English hrēod, meaning “reed,” plus the agent suffix -er/-ere, so the literal sense is “one who works with reeds.” In historical records, the name is associated with thatchers, since reeds were used for roofing.
History
Both Harrison and Lower connect the name with reed-working and thatching, and Lower cites Norwich records where reders and tylers appear together, reinforcing the occupational reading. Early spellings include Le Reder and Le Redere, showing the surname in its medieval French-form style. The modern spelling Reader later became fixed alongside related forms such as Reeder.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Medieval sources often mention reed-workers and thatchers together, because the same craft could involve both materials and roof work.
From the historical record
“^i;J°CV'}= Ready, q.v. READER (Eng.) i Reed-Worker, Thatcher [M.K. rederie ; O.E. hrSod, a reed + the agent, suff. -ere] Emma le Redere. — Hund. Rolls. Reders and thackers or thaxters (thatch- ers) are commonly mentioned together in the accounts of the mediaeval processions of craftsmen.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)