Fuller surname meaning

Fuller is an English occupational surname for a person who fulled cloth. Fulling was the process of cleaning, shrinking, and thickening woven fabric, often by beating or trampling it with water and cleansing agents. It was an important specialist trade, so the surname could arise independently in many textile communities. Older forms such as Fullar and Follere reflect medieval spelling variation. Fuller is sometimes confused with similar-looking surnames, but the cloth-working occupation is its own explanation. Occupation is the high-confidence catalog type. The surname describes a trade, not a claim that every Fuller worked in the same mill.