Taylor
A classic occupational surname meaning “tailor,” from the person who made or altered clothing.
The #17 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 411 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Taylor comes from the trade word for a tailor, the person who cuts and sews clothing. It ultimately goes back through Anglo-French and Old French to Latin roots connected with cutting, especially the Latin talea, meaning a cutting or shoot. Historical spellings include Tayler and similar forms, reflecting older pronunciation and spelling variation.
History
This is one of the most common surnames in England and Wales because tailoring was such a widespread medieval occupation. 19th-century surname scholars regularly treated Taylor as the standard English form of the trade-name surname, and it remained especially frequent in later census and register data. It also spread widely to other English-speaking countries through British migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older writers sometimes noted the comic proverb-like phrase that “three taylors are one,” showing how familiar the occupation was in everyday life.
From the historical record
“TAYLER \ (A.-Fr..Lat.) Tailor [M.E. toy- TAYLOR/ lo{u)r, tayler, etc., O.Fr. taitteor (Fr. tailleur), prop, cutter; Fr. tailler, to cut ; Lat. talea, a cutting] This name was Latinized Pamtentdrius. Some foolish knave (I thinke) at first began The slander that three Taylers are one”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)