Webster
/ˈwɛb.stər/noun
An English surname and occupational name originally meaning a weaver.
Did you know?The surname Webster comes from Old English *webbestre*, a specifically female occupational term for a weaver, showing how many medieval English surnames were born from craft, labor, and social identity.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*webh-
“to weave, to plait”
Old English
OE
webbestre
“a female weaver”
Middle English
ME
webster
“a weaver; especially a woman weaver in earlier use”
Late Middle English
English
Webster
“an occupational surname for a weaver”
Modern English
English
Webster
“a surname and, by extension, a dictionary name associated with Noah Webster”