Ships passenger lists, census returns and other documents used in genealogy may give an ancestor's occupation, this list gives more modern interpretations of those terms.
Accomptant - accountant
Accoucheur - man who acts as a midwife
Accoucheuse - midwife
Administatrix - female administrator
Almoner - giver of charity (alms) to the needy
Amanuen(sis) - secretary or stenographer
Aquarius - ewer; waterman
Artificer - maker or fixer of intricate objects; soldier mechanic who does repairs
Ashmanshipman - sailor
Aulnager - official responsible for inspecting and measuring woolen cloth
Aurifaber - goldsmith
Avenator - plantifene; hay and forage merchant
Bailie - bailiff
Banksman - gives instruction or assistance to driver; overseer at a mine pit
Barker - tanner
Baxter - baker
Belhoste - tavern keeper
Belleyetere - bellfounder
Blacksmith - one who shoes horses
Boniface - innkeeper
Borsholder - officer appointed by the manor or parish, constable.
Bowyer - bowmaker
Brasiler - dyer
Brazier - brass worker
Brewster - brewer; beer maker
Brightsmith - metal worker
Brownsmith - copper or brass smith
Burl - cup-bearer
Burneman - carrier of barm or waters for brewers
Burnisher - metal polisher
Campaner - bell maker
Cancellarius - chancellor
Cardmaker - maker of cards (instruments for combing wool)
Carner - granary keeper
Carnifex - butcher
Carpentarius - carpenter
Carter - maker or driver carts
Caulker - filler of cracks (in ships or windows)
Cautioner - guarantor (One who becomes security for another)
Chaisemaker - carriage maker
Chaloner - dealer in shalloon (a material made in Chalons)
Chandler - maker or seller of candles; retailer of groceries; dealer or trader
Chapman - merchant, often itinerant
Chesterman - guard
Chiffonier - wigmaker
Chirugion - apothecary or surgeon
Cissor - tailor
Clarke - cleric or scribe
Clericus - clerk
Clerk - clergyman, cleric
Clicker - printer in charge of final layout
Clicker - (shoe mfg) in charge of lace holes
Cobbler - shoe maker/repairer
Cocus (Keu) - cook
Cohen - priest
Collier - coalminer
Colporteur - peddler of books
Combere - woolcomber
Conveyor - grantor or seller
Cooper - maker or repairer of vessels made of staves & hoops ie. barrels, casks and tubs
Coppice keeper - one who takes care of small wood
Cordewanarius/Cordwainer/Corvisor - shoemaker, originally any leather worker using Cordovan leather (leather from Cordova/Cordoba, Spain)
Costermonger - peddler of fruits and vegetables
Cotiler - cutler
Crayman - driver of a cart carrying heavy loads
Crocker - potter; maker of crocks
Crowner - coroner
Cuhreur/Cunreur - currier
Culler - gelder of male animals
Cuper - cooper
Currrier - tanner of leather; user of curry comb on horses
Cutler - one who makes or sells knives etc.
Dareman - dairyman
Daunsel - gentleman in waiting; groom; squire
Dexter - dyer
Diviner/Dowser - one who finds water under the ground
Docker - stevedor; dock worker who loads and unloads cargo
Dowser - finder of water (or other items) using dowsing rods or witching stick
Draper - dealer in cloth and dry goods
Drayman - driver of the dray: a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads (later a brewery delivery team ie. the Budweiser Clydesdales)
Dresser - surgeon's assistant in a hospital
Drover - driver of animals to market; dealer in cattle
Drummer - traveling salesman
Dubbere - cloth dubber ie. one who raises the nap of cloth
Dudder - probably a maker of coarse cloaks
Duffer - peddler
Dyer - one who dyes cloth
Dysshere - probably a ditcher, or in some cases a disher
Elymaker - oilmaker
Endholdernn - inn keeper
Enumerator - census taker
Executrix - female executor
Faber - smith
Factor Agent - merchant for commission (or factor); attorney (not in the modern US sense); one who transacts business for another (usually absent); Scottish steward or bailiff of an estate
Falkner - keeper/trainer of falcons
Farmer - tax-collector or bailiff
Farrier - horse doctor, one in charge of horses; blacksmith; shodder of horses
Fell Monger - one who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making
Fence Viewer - person who inspects farmer's fences
Ferur/Ferator - farrier or blacksmith
Feuar - holder of lands granted for services
Fisher/Fishdryver - victualler
Flauner - confectioner
Flax Dresser - one who works with flax fibers
Fleshewer - butcher
Fletcher - maker of bows and arrows; arrowmaker
Forestarius - forester
Framar - farmer
French polisher - polish wood by hand using French polish, wax or lacquer
Frereman - servant of the Friars
Fuller - fuller of cloth; shrinker and thickener of woolen cloth by washing, heating and pressing; a felter; cleaner and thickener of cloth; one who trampled cloth, see also walker
Furber/Furbour - furbisher of armour
Furner - baker
Gaoler - jailer
Garcifer/Garcio - groom; attendant
Garlekmonger - garlicmonger; dealer in garlic
Ginerr - joiner
Glassewryght - glasswright; maker and mender of glassware
Glazier - glazier; repairer of windows
Glover - dealer or maker of gloves
Gobar - jobber
Grecher - grocer
Guilderer - maker of gold or silver coins
Gynour - engineer
Hacker - hoe maker
Hamberghmaker/Hamberow - horse collar maker
Hansard - weapon maker or seller
Harper - musician
Hatcheler - one who combed out flax
Hawker - peddler
Haymonger - dealer in hay
Hayward - keeper of fences
Headborough - constable
Hedger - one who trims and tends hedgerows
Herd - shepherd or herdsman
Hetheleder - provider of heather for fuel
Higgler - itinerant peddler
Hillard/Hiller/Hillier - one who covers houses with slate; tiler
Hind - farm laborer
Hooker - reaper
Hooper - maker of hoops for casks, barrels, tubs etc.
Horsler - hostler (stableman or groom), horse servant at an inn
Hosteler - innkeeper
Huckster - seller of small articles/wares
Husbandman - a farmer; animal husbandry; tenant farmer
Indentured servant - one who has committed to working for someone for a fixed number of years
Ironmonger - dealer in iron goods
Jorman - journeyman
Journeyman - craftsman who had served his apprentice, a master craftsman
Joyner/Joiner - joiner; skilled carpenter
Keeler - bargeman
Keller - salt keeper
Kellogg - slaughter man
Kempster - wool comber
Kepegest - innkeeper
Lardner - official in charge of pig food or keeper of the cupboard
Latouner - worker in latten (a metal resembling brass)
Lavender - washer woman
Lederer - leather maker
Leech - physician
Limeburner - maker of lime
Limner - draughtsman or artist
Lokeer - locksmith
Longshoreman - stevedor
Lorimer/lormer - bridlemaker
A Historical Dictionary of American Industrial Language
and:
and:
Figured Tapestry: Production, Markets, and Power in Philadelphia Textiles, 1885-1941
and:
Merchants, Markets and Manufacture: The English Wool Textile Industry in the Eighteenth Century
and:
The New England Mill Village, 1790-1860
and:
Their Fathers' Daughters: Silk Mill Workers in Northeastern Pennsylvania, 1880-1960
Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Georgia Illinois Indiana Kansas