Given name & surname
Webster
“a weaver”
Webster is used as a given name, a surname, and a nickname. One English interpretation is “a weaver.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “a weaver.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Webster through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,459
- 4,459 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 101 babies
- 2025
- 12
- #7,165 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −29%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,165 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 101 in 1915. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,769 as a first name in 2020; 70,161 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Webster’s family of names
In English usage, Webster has a diminutive in WEBBY. Webster has a related form in Webb. Webster has a related form in Weber.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Webbvariant
- Webervariant
- Webbervariant
- Webbydiminutive · English
- Wevervariant
- Weversvariant
- Webbevariant
- Webestrevariant
Show 3 moreShow fewer
People named Webster
- Webster TarpleyAmerican author, journalist, historianborn 1946
- Webster CampbellAmerican film actor, director, and screenwriter (1893-1972)
- Webster HubbellAmerican lawyer, politician, and felonborn 1948
- Webster WellsAmerican mathematician (1851–1916)
- Webster YoungAmerican musician (1932–2003)
- Webster E. BrownAmerican politician (1851-1929)
- Webster ThayerAmerican judge (1857–1933)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Webster, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Eston
“from the eastern town”
>99% boys
Gardner
“one who works the earth” · “the keeper of the garden”
97% boys · 3% girls
Wilbur
“one who is willful; a bright man”
>99% boys
Waldo
“a powerful ruler”
>99% boys
Lester
“roman fort” · “a man from Leicester”
>99% boys
Elmer
“a renowned and noble man”
>99% boys
Weldon
“from the hill near a spring”
>99% boys
Willard
“a resolute and brave man”
>99% boys