Wagner
An occupational surname meaning “wagon maker” or “cartwright,” especially associated with German origin.
The #173 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,982 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wagner comes from German wagon-related occupational words meaning a maker, driver, or builder of wagons and carts. Historical dictionaries connect it with Middle High German wagener and related older German forms, and gloss it as “wagoner,” “wheelwright,” or “cartwright.” In English records it was often treated as a German import rather than a native English surname.
History
The name is common in German-speaking areas and became widely established as a hereditary surname there. English surname writers of the 19th century regularly noted Wagner as a German occupational name, and it appears in early English records as an imported family name rather than a native English formation. In the United States it spread through German immigration and is now a fairly common surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books often grouped Wagner with names like Carter, Cartwright, and Waggoner because all point to transport and vehicle work.
From the historical record
“Close Rolls, A.D. 1393-4. WAGNER (Ger.) Wagoner : v. the Appendix of Foreign Names ; and cp. Wainep. WAG SPEAR (Scand. or Scand. + E.) a nick- name synonymous with Shakespear(e, q.v. [see under Wagg', and + O.N. spior — O.E, spere, a spear] WAGSTAFF "1 (Scand. or Scand. -i- E.) a WAGSTAFFE J nickname for a wand^bearing”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)