Craver
A surname most likely formed from an occupational or nickname-based root connected with “crooking,” “curving,” or other actions rather than a single fixed family name source.
The #8,259 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,956 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical excerpts do not give a direct derivation for Craver, but they place it among surnames built from action words and job-like or descriptive formations. The name may ultimately relate to an English verb or dialect form such as "crave"/"craver" in the older sense of someone who asks, demands, or strives, though the evidence here is too thin to be certain. Another possibility is that it arose as a descriptive or occupational nickname rather than from a place-name or patronymic.
History
The surname is uncommon in the United States and is recorded in the 19th- and early-20th-century materials only as an example in longer surname lists, not as a fully explained entry. Its modern American distribution suggests a relatively small number of family lines, probably established from earlier English-language usage. Because the old references are incidental rather than explanatory, the exact origin remains uncertain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In the 2010 U.S. Census, Craver ranked 8,259th, with about 4,012 bearers.
From the historical record
“Cravath, 184, 458. Craven, 123, 127. Craver, 343. Craw, 59, 211. Crawfoot, 161. Crawford, 243. Crawley, 219. Crawsbaw, 223.”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)