Webster surname meaning

Webster is an English and Scottish occupational surname meaning “weaver.” It comes from Middle English webbester and Old English webbestre, originally a feminine agent noun for a female weaver. By the time surnames became hereditary, the -ster ending no longer reliably marked gender, so Webster was used for men and women. Webber, Weaver, and Webb are related occupational neighbors rather than one family. Occupation is the high-confidence catalog type. The surname points to textile work in the original naming context; it does not require a modern Webster to practice weaving.