Glaser
An occupational surname for a glazier or glassworker.
The #3,493 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 30,166 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Glaser comes from German Glas, meaning “glass,” with the agentive ending -er, so the name originally meant “glass worker” or “glazier.” The historical sources also connect it with related forms such as Gläser and spellings influenced by local pronunciation and umlaut. In some records it appears alongside other surnames from the same trade, such as Glaisher and Glazier.
History
The surname is well established in German-speaking areas and later spread into other countries through migration. English sources note several spelling variants in directories, reflecting how clerks and families adapted the name to local spelling habits. It remains common among people of German heritage and also appears as an Anglicized form of related continental surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries note that Glaser often sits in a family of trade names linked to glassmaking, alongside forms like Glaisher and Glazier.
From the historical record
“T, or B, or i ; intrusive for euphony. Hence Lockyer for Locker, Tawyer for Tawer, Sawyer for Sawer, Bowyer for Bower, Quarrier for Quarrer, Glasyer or Glasier for Glaser, Stc; cf. lawyer for lawer. Also we get Hard-a-way for Hardway, Green-a-way for Greenway, Ott-a-way for Ottway, Hath-a-way for Hathway, Hen-e-ry…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances