Webster Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Webster last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Webster last name
Meaning of the Webster last name: weaver. Webster is a trade name for a weaver, from an Old English word for someone who wove cloth. The -ster ending was first used for women, but by the Middle Ages it was used for men too. The name is especially common in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Scotland, where weaving was a major industry. A curious detail: Noah Webster's dictionary gave Americans spellings such as "color" and "center", so the name now means "dictionary" to many people.
Arms associated with the Webster name
English heralds once rode round the counties checking who used arms, and families with the Webster name appear in that long tradition.
Get your full Webster family history
This is only a glimpse of the Webster story. The full Webster history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Webster coat of arms. Get the full Webster report.
Webster name FAQ
What does the Webster name mean?
Weaver. Common variants include Webstar, Webb, Weaver.
Where does the Webster surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Scotland and Australia.
Is there a Webster coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Webster coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.