Origin: |
Archer started out as an occupational surname quite literally denoting a person who was an archer or a bowman. The word archer is Anglo-French, used since the 13th century, a development of the Old French archier "archer, bowmaker" and earlier the Latin arcuarius, from arcus "bow". Archery is an ancient art form, dating back around 10,000 years, and a crucial military and hunting skill before the use of gunpowder. So important was it for millennia, countless cultures around the world featured the practice as a key part of their mythology and religious pantheons. Deities associated with archery are numerous, — Apollo, Artemis, Diana, Cupid, Marduk, Ullr, Rama, Krishna and Karna are just a few — alongside folk-legends such as Robin Hood, William Tell and Palnatoke. The ideal of "the archer" is even immortalised in the stars by the constellation Sagittarius. The name Sagittarius is also a Latin term for an archer, but while arcuarius relates to the word arcus "bow", sagittarius comes from sagitta "arrow." |
Usage: |
As a surname, Archer has been in use in Britain since at least the 12th century. The 1166 Pipe rolls have record of an Edward Archier in Hampshire and Robert L'archier in Wiltshire. Le Archer still survives as the surnames Larcher and L'Archer. A Hugh le Archer is mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Cambridgeshire in 1199. Archer's common use as a surname, even today, attests to how essential archery was in medieval society. In the 11th and 12th century, the crossbow was considered a weapon of mass destruction, both feared and revered, and highly divisive. Although highly prised for its effectiveness on the battlefield, it was also feared for its role as a social equaliser. Any man (be them peasant or nobleman) could wield the weapon which could penetrate armour at vast distances. No armoured nobleman or king was safe on the battlefield, and that was a danger to the highly stratisfied medieval social structure. So much so that the use of crossbows was banned in 1096 by Pope Urban II and later again by Pope Innocent II in 1139. The Normans, of course, had brought the crossbow over to Britain with them — supposedly, King Harold even got shot in the eye at the Battle of Hastings! — so it is little wonder that the surname Archer came into use in the 12th century. Despite the Papal ban, Richard I employed large numbers of mercenary crossbowmen, principally the Balestrieri from Genoa who were renowned for their prowess. Ironically, Richard himself was shot by a commoner during the seige of the castle of Châlus and died of his wounds. Despite this, his nephew Henry III, and following Edward I, had thousands of quarrels (crossbow arrows) mass produced to equip their armies. While the crossbow was more powerful, they were also slow to reload and were vulnerable to wet weather. When Edward I set out to conquer Wales, it is said that that Welsh archers, employing the use of longbows in their guerrilla tactics, took a heavy toll on the invaders. So impressive was this, that Welsh bowmen became a feature of English armies from that point on, and the longbow (which had long been used by hunters and foresters) became the bow of choice in England, and gained a reputation as a noble, mythic weapon. This was reinforced by the legends of Robin Hood, first recorded in writing in 1377, which abounded at this time. The longbow is credited with being the reason for several stunning English victories in France during the Hundred Years War, including the Battle of Crécy (1346), the Battle of Poitiers (1356) and the Battle of Agincourt (1415). So important was the role of the longbow in English military prowess, that English monarchs were keen to encourage its use to ensure military preparedness. Even the poorest male citizens were expected obtain a longbow matching their height, and butts were set up in every village and town.* Edward I banned all sports but archery on Sundays, to make sure Englishmen practised with the longbow, and later in 1363, Edward III ordered all able-bodied men to practice archery every Sunday and holidays with a halfpenny fine for those who failed to participate. Eventually, however, the introduction of firearms took precedence over archery on the battlefield, but by this time, surnames had established themselves as hereditary names in England, and so Archer's use as a surname was secure and in good use. Archer's use as a first name dates back to the 17th century when it was often used to honour a family member or godparent. From this point on, the name was almost exclusively male. One notable early bearer was the MP Sir Archer Croft, 2nd Baronet (1683–1753); in his case, Archer was his mother's maiden name. The 1841 UK census lists 157 Archers: 151 male, 6 female. By 1861 the figure had risen significantly to 276 (7 female) with over a third under the age of ten; in 1881 the number had doubled to 538 (5 female) and again to 1,027 (11 female) in 1901. In England and Wales, Archer increased progressively in use in the 19th century, peaking in the 1880s. It gradually declined from that point, becoming rare by the 1940s. The following is a list of births for the name Archer in England and Wales per decade: 1840s: 91 births From 1996 to 2004 Archer was registered no more that 12 times (#1410 in 2004) in any given year in England and Wales, and first reached the top 1000 in 2006 at #814 (31 births). However, from 2010 the name started to rise, reaching #484 (79 births) in 2012 and continued to rise. It's rise is not surprising. Archie has been in the top 50 since 2003 and top 20 since 2013. Several of the birth announcements I have featured on this blog have seen Archer used with Archie as a nickname, perhaps indicating that parents are drawn to Archer as a "formal" name for Archie which is lighter and more modern than Archibald. Add in the rise of other occupational surnames ending in -er such as Dexter, Carter, Hunter, Parker and Cooper, and Archer's upward curve was inevitable. In 2015, Archer ranked #337 (139 births) in England and Wales. Regionally, however, Archer was most popular in the East, where it ranked #180, followed by the South West where it was #228. In Scotland the name was once rare. From 1974 to 2011, it was only registered four times: once in 1977, 1988, 2009 and 2011. It garnered two births in both 2012 (#819) and 2013 (#847), but had risen #439 (7 births) in 2014. In 2015, Archer ranked #359 (9 births) in Scotland. |
Famous Bearers: |
History: * Sir Archer Croft (1683–1753), Member of Parliament. Contemporary: * Archer Prewitt (b. 1963), American musician and cartoonist. Other: * HMS Archer, the name seven ships of the British Royal Navy. |
Variants: |
Archier (Old French) Larcher |
Pronunciation: |
AR-chə [key] |
Possible diminutives: |
Archie |
Sibling Names: |
Calla May Tessa Belle Elodie Lyra |
Name Lists: |
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Thanks to Misha for requesting Archer.
This post was originally posted on 30th August 2013. It was revised on 28th January 2017.