Miner
An occupational surname for a person who worked in or around mines.
The #1,683 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,401 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Miner comes from the occupation word for someone who excavates or works in a mine. The surname reflects the common medieval job title rather than a place-name or personal name. The occupational term entered English through Anglo-French and is ultimately tied to Latin words for mining and ore.
History
Records from medieval England show the surname in forms such as le Minour/Minour and similar spellings, used for people identified by their trade. Later spelling settled into Miner, while Minor is sometimes noted as a likely variant or confusion with it. The name also appears among French Protestant refugee families in England, which may account for some later bearers in Britain and North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older sources note that Miner and Minor were sometimes confused in records, so not every historical Minor is necessarily the same surname family.
From the historical record
“Moneygall, near Menagh, co. Tipperary. MINER. The occupation. IMINBT. French Protestant refugees, after the Eev. of the Edict of Nantes. MINN. MINNS. MINSON. ]\IINKS. This series seems to point to Minn, (the sameasMjTin) as an ancient personal name. MINNETT. See MInnitt.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom