Farmer Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Farmer Name Meaning: From Middle English & Old French 'ferm(i)er', one who collected taxes, revenues & imposts.

These first 'farmers' acted as brokers for major landowners or the crown & selected applicants to work the tenanted lands. Not applied to an owner of cultivated land until the 17th century.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Farmer Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Farmer family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 1,589
Agricultural Labourer 207
General Labourer 155
Coal Miner 112
Domestic Servant 107
Dress Maker 86
Living On Own Means 81
Farm Labourer 77
Farmer 77
Labourer 75
General Servant Domestic 67
Living On Her Own Means 60
Gardener 55
General Servant 49
Laundress 48
General Domestic Servant 35
Cotton Weaver 34
Carpenter 33
Farm Servant 33
Blacksmith 31
Clerk 29
Shoe Maker 29
House Keeper 27
Cook Domestic Servant 26
Butcher 24

Farmer Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Farmer 100% 64,933
2 Fermor 67% 1,973
3 Farmar 83% 649
4 Fermer 83% 439
5 Framer 67% 388
6 Former 83% 323

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The surname Farmer is the most popular version of all its varients

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