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
School 459
Farm Labourer 45
Farmer 44
Private Means 39
General Labourer 26
Dressmaker 24
Clerk 22
Domestic Servant 21
General Servant (domestic) 21
None 20
Assisting In The Business 19
Shop Assistant 18
Farmers Son Working On Farm 16
Carpenter 15
House Painter 14
Gardener (domestic) 14
Coal Miner Hewer 14
Baker 13
Housemaid (domestic) 13
Bricklayer 12
Butcher 12
Laundress 12
Labourer 11
Gardener Domestic 11
At Home 11

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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