Lister
Usually a surname for a dyer or cloth-worker, though in some cases it may also come from place-name forms or older English religious usage.
The #4,250 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,976 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanation connects Lister with Middle English ister or litster, meaning a dyer, from the verb to dye or color cloth. That fits the many medieval records of the name in Yorkshire and other textile centers, where occupational surnames were common. Some 19th-century writers also suggested other possibilities, such as a connection with Leicester or with an Old English religious term, but the dyer explanation is the most widely accepted.
History
Medieval records show the name early in the north of England, especially Yorkshire, where cloth-working trades were important. Bardsley notes many spelling forms, including Litster, which helps explain how the surname later standardized as Lister. The name also became established in families of note, including local gentry lines in Yorkshire and elsewhere.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical source points to John Lister, a dyer of Norwich, in connection with the 1381 peasant unrest sometimes called Lister's Rebellion.
From the historical record
“De Insula. LISTER. 1. A-Sax. li.slre, a person who read some portions of the church service. LIT 2. Perhaps in some instances a corruption of Leicester. 3. A inore likely derivation than either, is from the 0. Eng. iitstcr,adyev, tinctor. The iusun-ectionary movement in Norfolk, called Lister's Rebellion, in 1381…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom