Waggoner
An occupational surname for someone who drove or managed a wagon—literally a wagoner or carter.
The #2,417 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,606 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Waggoner is an occupational surname built from the word for a wagon plus an agent ending meaning “one who does the work.” Historical sources connect it with Middle Dutch wagen, “wagon,” and with the English word wagoner, a driver or carrier of goods. In older English usage it could also mean a charioteer or wagon driver.
History
The surname appears in records of the early 1600s, including a James Waggoner baptized at the Dutch Church in London in 1610, which suggests an early English or Dutch-English milieu. 19th- and early-20th-century surname scholars treated it as a close equivalent of Wainman or Wagoner, and related it to transport and carting occupations. The spelling Waggoner is one of several English forms, alongside Wagoner and Wagener.
Origin
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Fun fact
Shakespeare uses the word waggoner in the sense of a charioteer in *Titus Andronicus*.
From the historical record
“WAGG EN ER ] (Teut.) Wagoner [a comp. WAGGONER I late formation (with E. agent. WAGENER J sufi. -er) on Dut. wagen, a wagon] In 'Titus Andronicus', V. ii. 48, waggoner is used in the sense of 'charioteer'. Bardsley pertinently notes that 'James Waggoner' was baptized at the Dutch Church, London, in 1610. Cp. Wainer.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)