Contents [hide]

Archer History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Archer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Etymology of Archer

What does the name Archer mean?

The noble French surname Archer is of occupational origin, deriving from the trade or profession pursued by the first bearer. In this instance, the surname Archer derives from the French word "archer" which signifies "bowman," deriving from the Latin word "arcuarius or arcarius" which signifies "bow." Therefore, the surname Archer was used to distinguish a bowman or a maker of bows.

Early Origins of the Archer family

The surname Archer was first found in the southern region of Provence. An early reference to the Archer name, shows that the Arquier family in Provence was listed among the ancient aristocracy of France.

Early History of the Archer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Archer research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Archer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Archer Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Arquette, Arquier, Archer, Larquer, Larcher and many more.

Early Notables of the Archer family

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

Archer World Ranking

the United States, the name Archer is the 1,019^th most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Archer is ranked the 5,092^nd most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2 And in Australia, the name Archer is the 494^th popular surname with an estimated 7,723 people with that name. 3 New Zealand ranks Archer as 409^th with 1,601 people. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Archer as 371^st with 17,002 people. 5

Archer migration to the United States +

Archer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Gabriel Archer, Lawyer, who arrived in New England in 1602 aboard the ship "The Concord" 7
Capt. Gabriel Archer, who arrived in Jamestown, Virginia aboard the ship "Discovery" in 1607 7
Georg Archer, who landed in Virginia in 1618 7
Geo Archer, who landed in Virginia in 1621 7
Samuel Archer, who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Archer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Archer, who landed in Virginia in 1700 7
Michael Archer, who landed in Virginia in 1726 7
Thomas Archer, who arrived in Georgia in 1747 7
George Archer, who landed in New Jersey in 1764 7
Alexander Archer, his wife Jane, and four children, settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1767
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Archer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mary Archer, aged 6, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1839 7
Augustus Archer, aged 12, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1839 7
Benj Archer, aged 35, who arrived in Key West, Fla in 1839 7
Charlotte Archer, aged 32, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1839 7
Vincent Archer, aged 10, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1839 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Archer migration to Canada +

Archer Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Christopher Archer settled at St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1703 8
Richard Archer was a Constable in Trinity, Newfoundland, in 1730 8
Hy Archer, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749

Archer Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Archer, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1826
Margaret Archer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Eleanor" in 1834
Thomas Archer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Eleanor" in 1834
Ellen Archer, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1844

Archer migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the First Fleet, Second Fleet and Third Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

First Fleet

Mr. William Archer, (b. 1771), aged 16, British settler convicted in Middlesex, England in 1787, sentenced to 7 years for breaking and entering, transported aboard the ship "Surprize" leaving in 1789 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1790 6

Second Fleet

Mr. John Archer, British settler convicted in Kent, England in 1788, sentenced to 7 years for petty larceny, transported aboard the ship "William and Ann" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 7
Mr. Jonas Archer, British settler convicted in Lancashire, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Atlantic" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 7
Mr. George Archer, British settler convicted in Essex, England in 1789, sentenced to 7 years for stealing lead, transported aboard the ship "William and Ann" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 7

Third Fleet

Mr. John Archer, (b. 1755), aged 32, English settler convicted in London on 26th May 1784, sentenced for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the ship "Scarborough" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788 7

Following the First, Second and Third Fleets, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Archer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Archer, English convict who was convicted in Derby, Derbyshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Robert Archer who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dick" on 2nd October 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
William Archer, English convict from Oxford, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on July 3, 1822, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 11
Mr. George Archer, (Bartlett), English convict who was convicted in London, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 13th March 1828, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
Mr. William Archer, English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 13th March 1828, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Archer migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Archer Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Archer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Annie Wilson" in 1863
William Archer, aged 34, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Celaeno" in 1872
Harriet Archer, aged 33, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Celaeno" in 1872
William J. Archer, aged 13, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Celaeno" in 1872
Alice J. Archer, aged 11, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Celaeno" in 1872
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Archer migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 13

Archer Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Hugh Archer, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his wife and servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Archer (post 1700) +

Michael Eugene Archer (1974-2025), better known by his stage name D'Angelo, American musician, first garnered attention after co-producing the 1994 single "U Will Know" by the R&B supergroup Black Men United, debut studio album, Brown Sugar (1995)
Joey Archer (1938-2025), American boxer who defeated Sugar Ray Robinson in Robinson's final fight in 1965
Daniel G. Archer (b. 1944), American former American football offensive tackle
David Mark Archer (b. 1962), American former professional football player
William Reynolds Archer Jr. (b. 1928), American retired lawyer and politician
Dennis Wayne Archer (b. 1942), American lawyer, jurist and former politician
Steve Archer (b. 1953), American singer-songwriter and producer
Christopher Alan Archer (b. 1988), American former professional baseball pitcher
Glenn Leroy Archer Jr. (1929-2011), American circuit judge in the court of appeals
... (Another 79 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Archer family +

Empress of Ireland

Master Alfred Cecil Archer (1912-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 14
Mr. Tracey Harley Archer (1881-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada who survived the sinking on the Empress of Ireland 15
Mrs. Mary Ruth Archer (1881-1914), née Congdon Canadian Second Class Passenger from Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 15
Mr. Wallace Lynes Archer (1891-1917), British Stoker 1st Class from Suffolk, who was aboard the ship "HMS Vanguard" when she exploded in the Scapa Flow off the Orkney Islands, Scotland on 9th July 1917
Mr. Joseph Archer, English 1st Class Waiter from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 15
... (Another 2 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Dick
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 155 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1822
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/