Occupations and Surnames Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Many surnames have their origins in occupations or professions: what kind of work was done by a tucker?

Answer: A cleaner of cloth

A tucker was one whose job was the fulling and dressing of cloth, in particular the unpicking of threads and knots and the finishing of the product. There are references to the occupation from as early as the 13th century in England e.g. in the 1273 Hundred Rolls of Dorset there is mention of 'Roger le Tukere'.

2. What trade or profession would have given rise to the surname Falkner?

Answer: Falcon keeper

A falkner, falconer or faulkner can be said to be a man who maintains or trains birds of prey such as hawks. It may also refer to a person who hunted with falcons or a follower of hawking as a sport.

Geoffrey Chaucer referred to a faulkner in his 'Franklin's Tale' (c1386) when he wrote; "Thise ffauconers..with hir haukes han the heron slayn"

It was a very popular sport for the nobility throughout the middle ages, not only in Europe but in Asia as well. The Emperor of China had an official whose title was 'The Grand Falconer' as part of his household.

3. The surname Pitman derived from what occupation?

Answer: A miner

A pitman was never just a miner. More specifically he would be a man who worked in a coal pit or mine, especially as a collier and later as a man who operated the pumping machinery in a shaft.

It was in common parlance for several years, but the first written record appears to be in the 'Philosophical Transactions 1708-09' of the Royal Society.

4. What occupation was associated with the surname Ackerman?

Answer: A ploughman

This is an old English or Saxon word meaning a cultivator of the ground, probably a ploughman. The earliest record of the term dates back to about 1000 AD.

5. What was the trade or profession that gave rise to the surname Keeler?

Answer: boat builder

The surname Keeler apparently dates from an old English occupational name for a boatman or boat builder. Going back even further in the history of language it appears to be derived from a Middle English word kele which meant 'ship' or 'barge' and probably came from from the Middle Dutch kiel.

The 1881 census shows a total number of 893 Keelers on the electoral roll which accounted for a frequency of 33 people in every million people.

6. Which occupation would be associated with the surname Gatward?

Answer: A goat herd

One of the very old (and quite unusual) old English names, it was not a very widespread surname. The 1881 census records for the whole of the United Kingdom reported only 382 people of that surname on the electoral roll of that year. This represents a 14 in one million frequency.
A gatward may also be taken to refer to a person who was a gate keeper at a castle, fortress or even Abbey or monastery. (info provided by FT player Dando)

7. The surname Yeoman was associated with which rural occupation?

Answer: A farmer who owns his land

A yeoman from the choices offered by this question would be a man holding a small landed estate or a substantial farm. He would be a freeholder but below the rank of a gentleman.

In other contexts he would be an office holder of the Crown in a position of some trust as in Yeoman of the Guard (personal bodyguard of the king introduced by Henry VII).

In 1411 for instance a declaration of the Parliament of the day was aimed at 'All the Knyghtes and Esquiers and Yomen that had ledynge of men...'

8. What was the trade or profession of a person which led to the surname Tasker?

Answer: A reaper

The job or task of a tasker was to thresh corn with a flail in a pre-machine age. It was hard and dusty work. The term tasker appeared in records during the 14th century and continued in usage through the following centuries.
In 1792 in the Statistical Accounts Scotland Report, this reference can be found "The taskers are those, who are employed in threshing out the corn; and they receive..the twenty-fifth part for their labour; and this has been their fixed and stated wages, as far back as can be remembered."

9. Meet Mr Lorimer. He was once a manual worker whose skills were very much in demand in a pre-combustion engine age world. What did he do for a living to get that surname?

Answer: A bridlemaker

Lorimer was derived from the mainly Scottish occupational name for a maker and seller of equipment for handling horses. These might include spurs, bits, and other metal attachments to harness and tackle. It is thought to have originated from the Anglo-Norman and French words lorenier or loremier which were agent derivatives of Old French lorain meaning 'tackle' or 'harness'.

The 1881 Census showed a total of 1191 people called Lorimer on the electoral roll which represented a frequency of 44 in one million.

10. In the world of material preparation, which occupation gave rise to the surname of Dexter?

Answer: A dyer

The surname Dexter seems to have mainly been derived from the English workers in the East Midlands. It originated from Middle English dyster or 'dyer'.

The 1881 census records some 2199 Dexters on the electoral role which represented a frequency of 81 names per one million.

Source: Author bracklaman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Many surnames in the British Isles have derived from the occupations of our ancestors. Tell me which surname links with which occupation.

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