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Usher Surname Meaning & Origin

What the Usher last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.

Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Usher coat of arms for you.

Meaning and origin of the Usher last name

Meaning of the Usher last name: doorkeeper. Usher is an English surname for a doorkeeper, from Old French ussier, from Latin ostiarius. It is found in Scotland and the north of England. Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh carried a form of this last name, and Edgar Allan Poe wrote The Fall of the House of Usher.

Arms associated with the Usher name

Heraldry associated with the Usher surname uses a few strong colours, and each coat of arms has its own blazon.

Get your full Usher family history

This is only a glimpse of the Usher story. The full Usher 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 Usher coat of arms. Get the full Usher report.

Usher name FAQ

What does the Usher name mean?

Doorkeeper. Common variants include Ussher.

Where does the Usher surname come from?

It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Is there a Usher coat of arms?

Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Usher coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.

Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).