Sawyer Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Sawyer Name Meaning: An occupational name for someone who is employed to 'saw' wood. Middle English 'saghier' a derivative of 'sagh(en)' meaning 'to saw'.

The process of preparing 'sawn timber' was an absolute necessity during medieval life,without it life would have been impossible.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Sawyer Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Sawyer family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 945
General Labourer 98
Agricultural Labourer 95
Domestic Servant 72
Living On Own Means 55
Laundress 49
Farm Labourer 47
Gardener 42
General Servant Domestic 40
Labourer 39
Dress Maker 35
Living On Her Own Means 34
Coal Miner 24
Farmer 22
Carpenter 21
General Servant 21
Blacksmith 20
Bricklayer 19
House Keeper 18
Painter 17
Charwoman 16
Dressmaker 16
Carter 14
Tailoress 14
General Domestic Servant 13

Sawyer Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Sawyer 100% 41,332
2 Swyer 83% 1,575
3 Swayer 67% 184
4 Sawayer 86% 143

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

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