English
The surname Sawer is of English origin. It was an occupational name for someone who earned his living from sawing wood, derived from the Middle English 'saghier', an agent derivative of 'sagh(en)', to saw ( from the Old English 'sagu', a saw ). The Middle English word absorbed the Anglo-Norman-French term for a sawyer, 'syour'. The name thus comes to signify 'to saw', 'a sawer of timber, especially in a saw pit'. A man usually works eight hours a day in order to make his living, sleeps and rests eight hours, and devotes the remaining eight hours to eating, minor chores and recreation, although a part of the latter may be taken up in travelling to and from work. Since man's work takes up such a large portion of his life it must be taken into consideration in any adequate system of identification; as it was for the surname Sawyer. The ordinary pursuits of the Middle Ages have become some of the most common surnames in the United States. The name dates back to the twelfth century were a Nicholas le Sagyere is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America by English immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a William Sawyer, a gardener formerly of London, who came to America aboard the barque the Maryland Planter; he settled in Maryland. This name is the four-hundredth and ninety-third most common surname in America.