Sailor History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The surname Sailor is derived from the Old Norman French word "sailleor," which denotes a "leaper" or "dancer." Thus the name was most likely originally born by someone whose occupation was that of a dancer or entertainer.

Early Origins of the Sailor family

The surname Sailor was first found in Yorkshire where Herbert le Sayllur was on record in "Early Yorkshire Charters" dating from 1191 to 1210. "The surname is very rare indeed. This is not a little singular, considering the commonness of the employment. In the Hundredorum Rolls we have it in the forms of Le Sailliur, Le Saylliur, and Le Saler." 1

Early History of the Sailor family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sailor research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1275, 1327 and 1790 are included under the topic Early Sailor History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sailor Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Saylor, Sayler, Saylur, Sailor, Sailer and others.

Early Notables of the Sailor family

More information is included under the topic Early Sailor Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sailor Ranking

In the United States, the name Sailor is the 13,167^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Sailor family to Ireland

Some of the Sailor family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sailor migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Sailor or a variant listed above were:

Sailor Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jacob Sailor, who landed in New Jersey in 1730 3
Balthazar Sailor, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1740 3
George Sailor, who arrived in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1743 3
George Sailor, who is on record in Philadelphia in 1743
Philip Sailor, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 3

Sailor Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Gottfried Sailor, aged 28, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1802 3
Martin Sailor, who arrived in New York city in 1833
Mrs. B Sailor, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1855 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Sailor (post 1700) +

William Sailor, American politician, Mayor of DeRidder, Louisiana, 1906-08 4
Stephanie Sailor, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Illinois, 2000, 2002, 2004 4

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html