George surname meaning

George can be a surname taken from the medieval personal name George. That name came through Latin Georgius from Greek Georgios, related to georgos, “farmer” or “earth-worker.” In a surname, however, the important signal is descent from an ancestor called George, not proof that the family farmed. English, Welsh, French, Romanian, German, and other lines can use cognate forms, and American records also contain adopted or immigrant spellings. Parent’s name is therefore the best catalog type. Confidence is high for the personal-name route, while the Greek occupational gloss belongs to the given name’s history and should not be presented as a literal family occupation.