Taber
An occupational surname from the medieval taborer, a player on a small drum or tabor.
The #4,550 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,644 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Taber is generally understood as a shortened form of Taberer or Taborer, meaning a player on the tabor, a small drum or tambourine. The word ultimately goes back through Middle English to Old French forms related to tambour and tabour. In surname use, it began as an occupational byname for a musician.
History
Medieval records cited by 19th-century surname scholars show early spellings such as le Taburer and le Taborer. The shortened form Taber appears to have developed naturally from those fuller occupational names. It later spread as a hereditary surname in England and, much more widely, in English-speaking countries such as the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname dictionaries explicitly compare Taber to shortened forms like Pepper from Pepperer: the final occupational ending was simply dropped over time.
From the historical record
“John le Taburer.— /ftt«rf. Rolls. TABER, meton. for Taberer, q.v. TABERNER i = Tavernep, q.v. Benedict Taberner. — Hund. Rolls. 2 Tabour-Player [f. M.E. tahurn(e, a form ot O.Fr. tabourin (Fr. tambourin), a small drum, tambourine; a dim. oitabo(ii)r:”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)