Sadler
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of saddles.
The #1,678 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,358 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Sadler comes from Middle English sadeler, meaning a saddler or saddle-maker. It is built on Old English sadol, “saddle,” plus the agent suffix -er. In the broader surname record, it is essentially the same occupational type as modern English names like Baker or Miller.
History
The name appears widely in medieval and early modern English records, and the older dictionaries treat Sadler and Saddler as the same surname. Because saddle-making was an important specialist trade, the name became established in several parts of England. Variant spellings such as Sadleir and Sadeler also occur in older records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley notes that Sadler could also be used in a broader, older sense for a skilled craftsman, not just someone who literally made saddles.
From the historical record
“colour (? O.E. seed) -f- E. grove, O.E. grdf] SADLER \ (Eng.) Saddler [M.E. sadeler — SADTLER J sadel, a saddle -|- the agent, suff. ■er; O.E. sadol, a saddle] SAFFRY^}''- Savery, Savary. SAFFORD, an assim. form of Salford, q.v. SAGAR \ (Scand. and N.Eng.) Sawyer [sager”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)