Glazer
An occupational surname for a glazier—someone who fitted or worked with glass.
The #9,658 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 91,861 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English records, Glazer is a spelling linked to the trade of a glazier, from Middle English and Old French words for “glass” and “glass-worker.” The basic sense is “one who works with glass,” especially in windows. In some cases the same spelling may also reflect German or Yiddish surnames built from words for glass or glasswork, but the English occupational origin is the clearest and most common explanation in older surname dictionaries.
History
Bardsley and related surname notes treat Glazer mainly as a variant spelling of Glazier, an occupational name found in Britain and later in the United States. The spelling with -er rather than -ier became fixed in some families, while related forms such as Glaisher and Glasier also appear in the historical record. Because similar-looking German and Jewish surnames can converge on the same spelling, individual family lines may have different origins.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname dictionaries often cross-reference Glazer under Glazier, showing how fluid surname spelling could be before modern standardization.
From the historical record
“OlELisyer.— Occup. 'the ja- iler ' ; V. Glazer. We»t Rid. Conn Dir., r. Oloabrook, OlaMbroofce. — Local ; v. Glaiebrook.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances