Webster
An occupational surname meaning “weaver,” originally from a feminine Old English term for a woman who wove cloth.
The #453 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,251 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Webster comes from Old English and Middle English words for a weaver, especially the feminine forms such as Old English webbestre and Middle English webster(e). The name literally meant “one who weaves,” and early spellings in records often show the word as a job title rather than a family name. Over time it became hereditary as a surname, and in many places it survived even after the original occupational gender sense was no longer felt.
History
Medieval records from England, especially northern counties, show early bearers as plain occupational bynames such as John le Webestere and Alicia Wryght, webster. Writers like Bardsley and Lower note that -ster names often began as feminine labor terms, which later became inherited surnames for men and women alike. The surname spread widely in Britain and then to North America, where it remains common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Historically, Webster belongs to the same old -ster surname pattern as Baxter and Brewster, both of which also started as feminine occupational words.
From the historical record
“M.E. ley, O.E. ledh, a meadow] WEBSTER (Eng.) (orig. female) Weaver [M.E. webster(e, webester[e, webbester(e, &c. ; O.E. webbestre, female weaver] John le Webestere. — Htind. Rolls, A.D. 1274. Adam le Webbester. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Webster
- Travis Scott (b. 1991)
- Noah Webster (1758–1843)
- Daniel Webster (1782–1852)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.