Messier
An occupational surname from French, originally referring to a field-keeper or harvest guard.
The #7,532 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 69,963 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Messier comes from French messier, a word for a person who guarded fields or watched over the harvest. It goes back to Late Latin messarius, from Latin messis meaning “harvest,” and is related to Latin messor, “reaper” or “mower.” In origin, the name pointed to a rural job connected with protecting crops and overseeing harvesting work.
History
The surname is French in form and was probably first used for someone whose work involved guarding grain fields or the harvest. It remained a recognizable occupational term in French and later became established as a family name. In English-language sources, it is sometimes discussed alongside other French occupational surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same harvest-root appears in several Romance surnames and words tied to reaping and field work.
From the historical record
“2 Field- Keeper, Harvestman [Fr. messier, L.Lat. messarius ; f. Lat. messis, harvest : cp. Lat. messor, a reaper, mower] John le Messer. — Hund. Rolls.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)