What trades inspired these surnames?

Carter is obvious it came from Wainwright someone who made wheels. I know, I still do.

Baker, Taylor, Shoemaker, Cook, Fisher, Candy, Houseman, Clark, Butler, Mason, Draper, Butcher,

Strange most likely is the English version of the French Etrange (with an accent over the first E) – which was itself a word (etranger) meaning “stranger”. So when Curtis’ family moved to the town in France where they were settled, it was “La Famille Etrange” meaning “the foreign family”.

When they moved to the “new world”, it would have been Anglicized to “Strange”.

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The Scully / Skully family is also probably French, from the word Ecole (again, accent on the first E) – Ecole means “school”. So the family was very likely descended from someone who ran a school (Jacques L’Ecolier) for example, meaning “Jack who ran the school” or “Jack the Schoolmaster”. And again, it was anglicized by dropping the initial E and became “cole, and eventually Scully.

Makes you wonder what Joe Cocker’s ancestors did.

My Iceland girl friend has a different last name from her brother.

Fathers first name is Asvald (Oswald).

So daughters last name is Asvaldsdottir (Oswald’s Daughter).

Son’s last name is Asvaldsson (Oswald’s Son).

Scully may be from some who oared. A scull is a type of racing rowboat, but the term was also used for oarsmen in larger boats.

And Joe Cocker’s ancestor probably had something to do with chickens.

Well, “Vogler” (my last married name and my kid’s name) means “falcon” in German.
“Henson,” my maiden name…well, son of a hen, I guess!
Then there is “Billionis,” my name now. It means, “Asshole from Greece.”

The Irish name, “Scully” comes from older forms Ó Scalaidhe, Ó Scolaidhe, Ó Scolaí and Ó Scolaighe. These surnames referred to an ancestor who functioned as a sceulaidhe, a high-ranking storyteller of an old Irish court, or a “student”. Other early modern forms of the surname include Scally and Skully.

(Source)

Cocker has two possible origins. The first is the word “cocc,” meaning “son.” This evolved to refer to a warrior, and later a prize fighter. The second is the word “cock,” which once referred to a haystack. Thus a cocker was a maker of haystacks.

(Source)

Not all surnames originate from a profession. Some, like “Wood” and “South” derived from where a person lived and others like “Brown” and “Little” came from their physical appearance. Not to mention all the ”...son“s and “Mac…“s denoting parentage.

@downtide is right. For those of Western European ancestry, many or most names come from medieval bynames:

Most medieval bynames were simple and straightforward: your father’s name, your home village, your occupation, or perhaps some notable personal characteristic. Sometimes the same kinds of ideas were expressed in more elaborate ways, but the ideas remained very down-to-earth.

None of us can remember his last name. But we know who Joe The Plumber is.

I know someone whose last name is Batchelor. I’ve always wondered how that last name came about.

This may not be appropriate, but Cooper is the only thing that I thought of when reading this question (it has something to do with barriers. Don’t believe me? Check Wikipedia)

@Mimishu1995 I think you meant “barrels.”

My maiden name, “Carlin”, is an angelicised form of O Caireallain, which comes from the Gaelic root word “carla”, meaning wool, and describes one who combs wool.Basically, it’s a clan of wool combers, we.

Mine, Hollomon, was a family who lived in a Hollow, or valley.

Can we descend into the gutter and wonder where someone got the name “Ramsbottom” or “Everhard” or “Smellie” or even “Cumming”?

Oh, I was so hoping we would descend into the gutter. Aad how about the Weiner family. Mind you, they hadn’t invented hot dogs back when the Patriarchal Weiner took on the name.

My maiden name probably comes from a location and not an occupation: Firth. My married name is Norwegian and is definitely a location and not an occupation.

I knew someone here in town whose last name was Marryme. I wondered about that.

Was Lionel Barrymore’s family in the funeral business?

@tranquilsea My last name is based on location as well, and is from Old English. Good point also on the son gambit, but that soon faces a severe generational problem/

@Dutchess_III One does have to wonder. A bigamist?

@elbanditoroso He was born Lionel Herbert Blythe.

@rojo Ramsbottom is easy. It’s from a place name in Lancashire and is basically “a low-lying field where a ram lives” No mind/gutter interface required.

@downtide Nonetheless, Ramshollow, Ramsvale or Ramsvalley would have made nicer sounding place names.

True, but this is Lancashire, not Surrey.

@downtide When we visited England a while back we had a lot of fun speculating exactly how the Roman Nose Sheep aquired its name. We assumed it was not a complementary reference.

@Seek_Kolinahr I thought “Carlin” meant One Who Cracks People Up By Being Outrageously Politically Incorrect. ;)

Good ol’ uncle George.

@downtide Lancashire! Oh well, say no more… :-)

@rojo Roman nose sheep are so named because they indeed to have a Roman nose.

@Dutchess_III If it didn’t mean that, it needs to now.

@Seek_Kolinahr He will be sorely missed.

Ah @ETpro, but the question is how did they come to have “Roman” noses when the rest of the sheep have “sheep” noses. Just how bored or perverted were those roman soldiers anyway? They were a long way from home.

@ETpro I’m guessing “Weiner” indicated a family involved with wine production. I’m also guessing in the past it was pronounced more like “whiner”. I bet it still is in German speaking countries.

@rojo Ha! Now my dull mind finally gets your drift.

@fundevogel The later would seem more fitting.