INDUSTRIAL FAMILY NAMES. 811 



Plater, Disher, and, according to Taylor, Turner also, though some 

 assign this name to the worker in wood. The burden of proof, 

 however, seems to make the original turner an artist in jugs, the 

 propriety of the name in this case being manifest. 



From wood, stone, and clay the transition to the metals is easy 

 and natural, and of the skill of our Saxon forefathers in this di- 

 rection there are abundant records in the family names still re- 

 maining in common use. Iron, Ironer, and Ironman are common ; 

 Copper, Coper, Copperer, and Coperman equally so ; while Leader, 

 Lederman, and Lederer come down almost unchanged from Roger 

 le Lederman, mentioned in a parliamentary writ of the thirteenth 

 century. Brasser and Brassy still exist, along with Tiner and 

 Tyner, to testify to the variety of metals used, while Silver is as 

 rare as Golden, though both exist in our directories, and doubtless 

 tell of the occupations of their originals. 



"When metal- working is considered, the family names indica- 

 tive of occupation are equally significant. Smith needs only a 

 mention as a sort of generic term ; Coppersmith is often seen, to- 

 gether with Goldsmith. The manufacture of special articles of 

 metal gave rise to several family names — such as Spooner, Knif er, 

 and Nypher — Ralph le Spooner and John le Knyf ere appearing in 

 the records of that period. The cutler then as now dealt in small 

 articles of hardware, and the Cutlers remain to bear witness to 

 the popularity of the business ; while Armour speaks of the devel- 

 opment of the craft in another direction. 



Leaving metal- working for the manufacture of textile fabrics, 

 Prof. Miiller has some very interesting notes on the manufacture 

 of flax as connected with the growth of the English language. 

 From these it is evident that several family names originated with 

 the linen trade. There are Flax and Flaxman, Linn, Lynn, and 

 Lynnman, who doubtless provided the material, lin being a Saxon 

 name for Flax ; and, with some probability, it has been suggested 

 that White, Whitener, Whitner, Bleach, Blake, Blaker, and Blake- 

 man had their origin in the process of bleaching the goods. 

 Leather, too, furnished names as well as occupation to those 

 who dealt in it or busied themselves in various branches of its 

 manufacture. The records of the twelfth century have preserved 

 for us the names of Ralph le Hyder, Roger le Skinnere, John le 

 Curier, Thomas le Tannere, whose philological descendants still 

 appear on the pages of our directories in varied spellings, while 

 the Shoemakers are almost as numerous as the Glovers. Sowter, 

 Sutter, and Soter are modifications of Souter, once a common name 

 for a shoemaker, while Clouter, Cloter, and Cloutman, together 

 with Cobbler, Cobler, and Cobbleman, are forms of a different 

 word of the same signification, and the Pattens, Pattons, Patten- 

 mans, Pattermans, and perhaps Pattersons, took their names from 



