Turner Family History
Turner Surname Meaning
English: occupational name from Middle English t(o)urnour turner ‘turner’ (Old French to(u)rn(e)our) mainly denoting someone who fashioned small objects of wood metal or bone on a lathe but also a variety of other occupations including turnspit and translator or interpreter. This surname may have become confused with Toner . In North America it is also very common among African Americans. English: occasionally perhaps a nickname from Middle English turn-hare a compound of Middle English tournen ‘to turn direct steer’ + hare ‘hare’ a name for someone in charge of the greyhounds in hare coursing or an exaggerated compliment for someone who could run fast. See also Turnbull . English: perhaps also from Middle English t(o)urn(e)our ‘jouster one who takes part in a tournament’ (Old French tornoieor tournoieur). South German (rarely Türner): occupational name for a guard in a tower or a topographic name from an agent derivative of Middle High German turn ‘tower’. Compare Thurner . South German (rarely Türner): habitational name for someone from any of various places called Thurn for example in Austria. Compare Thurner . Slovenian and Croatian: regional occupational or topographic name from tur(e)n a loanword from German (see 4 above).7: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from a place called Turno or Turna in Poland and Belarus or from the city of Tarnów (Yiddish Turne) in Poland.8: Americanized form (translation into English) of any of various like-sounding Jewish surnames or names with similar meaning.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
