Seltzer
An occupational surname from German, originally referring to a salter or pickle-maker.
The #7,856 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,284 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained from German words for salt or salting, with the sense of a person who salts food or works with brined/pickled goods. Some old surname lists gloss it as “salter” or “pickler,” which fits this occupational pattern. In German-speaking areas, such names often arose from everyday trades and crafts.
History
The name appears in German-American surname lists and was carried to the United States by immigrants from German-speaking regions. It is also familiar to many English speakers because of the word “seltzer” for sparkling mineral water, though the surname and the beverage term are unrelated in origin in common usage. In modern America it remains an uncommon but established surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling that appears as a family name is also widely known in English as a word for carbonated mineral water, which can make the surname feel unexpectedly “drink-like.”
From the historical record
“Messing was clerk of the British ordnance-depart- ment. Mr. QuiNAN (" quinine " ?) is a lawyer at Wharton, Tex. Mr. Seltzer is a law-student at Har- vard, 1860. Mr. Well lives at Loretto, C.E. ; but I regret to state that our Mr. Well died at East Boston in Janu- ary, 1857. Mr. Healing lives at Montreal ; Mr.”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)