Farmer Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Farmer last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Farmer last name
Meaning of the Farmer last name: tax farmer, or farmer. Farmer comes from an old French word, and at first it did not mean a man who worked the land. It meant someone who collected taxes or rents for a fixed sum, called a "farm", and kept whatever was left over. A curious detail: only later did the word shift to a tenant who leased land, and then to the farmer we know. The name is most common in the English Midlands.
Arms associated with the Farmer name
Medieval English knights painted their arms on shields and surcoats so they could be recognised in battle, the world in which Farmer heraldry grew.
Get your full Farmer family history
This is only a glimpse of the Farmer story. The full Farmer 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 Farmer coat of arms. Get the full Farmer report.
Farmer name FAQ
What does the Farmer name mean?
Tax farmer, or farmer. Common variants include Fermor, Farmar, Fermer.
Where does the Farmer surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Ireland.
Is there a Farmer coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Farmer 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.