Sayer Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Sayer Name Meaning: A derivative of the medieval personal name 'Saher' or 'Seir',loosley translates as 'victory-army'. Secondly an occupational name for a wood cutter 'Sayhare'/'Sawyer'. Thirdly occupational for assaying metals or tasting food ,from French 'essay' meaning 'trial' or 'test'. 'Assayer'.

The plural spelling iof the name is a patronymic form,meaning 'son of Sayer'. An example recording would be that of 'William Sayers',dated 1634.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Sayer Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Sayer family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 598
Agricultural Labourer 97
Labourer 50
Dress Maker 38
General Servant 30
Shoe Maker 27
House Keeper 24
Domestic Servant 24
Carpenter 21
Tailor 17
Annuitant 16
Gardener 16
Servant 15
Farm Servant 14
Laundress 14
Farmer 13
Milliner 12
Cook 11
Groom 10
Grocer 10
Licensed Victualler 10
No Occupation 10
Shepherd 9
Farm Labourer 9
Coachman 9

Sayer Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Sayer 100% 28,534
2 Syer 80% 3,390
3 Sawer 80% 3,359
4 Soyer 80% 216
5 Syre 40% 167
6 Seyer 80% 148
7 Sayor 80% 142

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

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