Porter Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Porter Name Meaning: An occupational name for a gatekeeper (either a walled town, walled city, monastery, castle, etc).

From the Old French \"portier\", PORTER is an occupational name for a gatekeeper (either a walled town, walled city, monastery, castle, etc). Those who were given the position of porter were also usually given accomodation and privileges.

Discover how your Porter ancestors earned their living and spread across the country. Find out more about your family history by using the Free Search box.

Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Porter Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Porter family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 4,197
Agricultural Labourer 448
Labourer 221
Dress Maker 213
Domestic Servant 210
General Labourer 201
Coal Miner 146
General Servant 135
Cotton Weaver 132
Farm Labourer 125
Laundress 103
Carpenter 100
Annuitant 96
House Keeper 85
General Servant Domestic 80
Joiner 61
Gardener 55
No Occupation 55
Farmers Son 55
Charwoman 52
Shoe Maker 50
Servant 49
Bricklayer 47
Grocer 45
Butcher 43

Porter Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Porter 100% 153,311
2 Prater 67% 2,928
3 Parter 83% 2,242
4 Portor 83% 999
5 Preater 57% 872
6 Peartree 50% 768
7 Priter 67% 191
8 Proter 67% 191
9 Perter 83% 183
10 Portter 86% 107
11 Preator 43% 102

Did you know?

The surname Porter is the most popular version of all its varients

Search for the Porter family