Messer
A surname with two main roots: either from a medieval word for a reaper or mower, or from a nickname/title like “master” or “sir” in older French forms.
The #1,769 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,205 Americans shares it.
Etymology
One well-attested source of Messer is medieval occupational usage: records show forms like le Messer or le Messor for a mower, harvester, or reaper, from Latin messis, “a harvest,” through Medieval Latin messarius. Another line of explanation connects the name with Old French messier/messire, titles meaning “master” or “sir,” though that is less likely as a surname origin in English records. In practice, English and Scottish examples may reflect either an occupational byname or, in some cases, a later spelling form influenced by Mercer.
History
The surname appears in medieval English records in occupational form, especially in eastern and central counties. Later sources also note that Messer can be a regional corruption or variant of Mercer in the south of England. Because the spelling is short and flexible, some bearers may descend from different source names that converged on the same written form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries explicitly gloss le Messer as a field worker—someone who mowed, harvested, or reaped grain.
From the historical record
“of Lat. sedere, to sit] MESSER (A.-Fr.-Lat.) i Master, Sir, Squire \0.7x.messerioTmessire — mes,'Ls.t. metis, my -|- sire, Lat. senior'] Messer, vieux mot pour messire: La Fontaine I'afr^quemment appliqu6 k des animeaux, et mSme a I'estomac, qu'il a appe]6 messer Gaster- — Stappers, Diet. d'Etym. Fratif., p. 606.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)