Ferrer
A surname with French roots, most likely from a place name linked to ironworking, though it was sometimes also connected with a farrier or iron dealer.
The #2,123 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,101 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually traced to Ferrières or similar place-names in northern France, names associated with iron deposits or iron-working. Old French ferrier/ferrer is also relevant, since it relates to iron and to shoeing horses. Early writers sometimes extended the surname to a farrier-like occupation, but that explanation is less secure than the place-name origin.
History
The surname appears in medieval French and Anglo-Norman settings and later spread into Britain. In English surname books it is often treated together with Ferrers and related forms such as Farrer and Farrar, which reflect spelling shifts and local pronunciation. The name is also found in noble and gentry lines, which helped preserve the French-looking form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century writer specifically argued that the famous medieval Ferrers family was linked to Ferrières, not to the humble occupation of a farrier.
From the historical record
“B.L.G. FERRER. See Ferrers. FERRERS. FARRARS. The Itin. de la Norm, gives nine places called Ferriere, and four called Ferrieres, in Normandy. M. de Gerville considers the name to have some relation to the ancient iron-trade of that province, wliich is probable. Mem. Soc. Ant. Norm., 1 84-1 ; but that this veiy…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom