ABSTRACT
Occupational surnames are those from terms for some craft or trade, such as Smith, Baker, or Shepherd. There also exists today a group of surnames derived from high ranks or positions in Church or State such as King, Prince, or Duke from secular offices, and such as Cardinal, Bishop, or Abbot, from positions in the Church. There are also a group of names which have arisen from words for free or unfree status. The most common of these is Freeman. Some occupational surnames, including some quite common ones, exist in pairs; examples are Baker and Baxter, Brewer and Brewster. It was a common practice for the writers of Latin documents to translate some occupational names into Latin, using the Latin word which had the same literal meaning as the Middle English term which was being translated. The chapter also discusses Welsh and Scottish surnames.
