Some names are actually jobs

Rub-a-dub-dub,
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker,
And all of them out to sea.

While this is an old nursery rhyme, it does make people wonder about jobs that are popular in the past and jobs that are uncommon today. Historically, people used to only earn a surname, or last name, based on some trait or quality about them. For instance, if a person’s father was named John, that person may be referred to as John’s son, which later morphed into Johnson.

Careers were also a common way of identifying people. If someone was a fisherman, that person might be referred to as Fisher. If someone was a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker… okay, maybe we don’t have people with the last name candlestick maker, but the other two aren’t terribly uncommon.

At Armijo, there are at least three different last names that have been derived from careers. One of those names is Butcher. Jayden and his twin brother Ryan share that last name. Jayden said that, although his name is familiar, he has surprisingly never met anyone who is not related that shares it. He also revealed that he plays varsity football and hopes to go pro or coach, but before that he hopes to go to college.

Raye Porter also has a name that was derived from a job. A porter is a person who carries things, and that is the same word that we get words like transport and import from. Her older sister Tai graduated from Armijo in 2019. Raye is currently a junior, but she is not related to Evan Porter who is an Armijo sophomore.

According to Wikipedia, “A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who could read and write or who wrote letters as well as court and legal documents.” Junior Marina Scrivner probably came from a long line of educated people, potentially teachers and lawyers. She hasn’t learned a lot about her name, but knows that it is a name that goes back a few generations.

Knowing where your name comes from goes a long way to knowing who you come from and can help individuals recognize the long-standing traditions that build families. Have you ever studied your last name and learned of its origins? Have you ever wondered about it?