Taylor

What does the name Taylor mean?

An Anglo-French occupational surname, Taylor is thought to have arrived through the Norman occupation, derived from the Old French 'tailleur' (cutter of cloth) or English 'tailor'. The surname Taylor is common across the British Isles (fourth most common in the UK overall - fifth most common in England) and other countries traditionally colonised by the British, though far less common in Ireland (where it mostly exists only in Northern Ireland - potentially brought over by English and Scottish settlers). Taylor can sometimes be found as an anglicised version of the German word 'Schneider', a direct translation of the same term.

The earliest occurrence of the Taylor surname in our family history documents is from 1418, and we currently have 9,201,637 records where Taylor appears.