Saylor
An English surname probably from a medieval occupational term, though some older authorities disagreed on the exact source.
The #2,276 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,285 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical evidence points to an occupational name. Older surname writers connected Saylor with medieval forms like Le Saylliur and Le Saler, and later suggested a link to Old French sailleur, a word used for a dancer or leaper. Another line of explanation treated it as related to sailor, but the older forms do not support a straightforward sea-faring origin.
History
The name is recorded in medieval English sources, but it was considered uncommon even in the 19th century. In later scholarship, the spelling Saylor was often grouped with other rare surnames with similar sound patterns, and some writers thought many American bearers may actually descend from unrelated German surnames that became anglicized to Saylor.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 20th-century etymologist remarked that the surname was oddly common in America despite being rare in medieval English records.
From the historical record
“SAYLER1 ■ ., „ ., SAYLOR J ~ S^'l^ri Sailor, q.v. Sayles 139 Scathlock”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)