Old English occupational surname meaning weaver, from 'webbestre'.
Webster is an occupational surname turned given name, derived from the Old English 'webestre,' the feminine form of 'weaver' — a reminder that in medieval England, weaving was predominantly women's work, and occupational surnames often preserved that gendered reality long after the names detached from their original bearers. The '-ster' suffix, marking a female practitioner of a trade, appears in several English surnames: Baxter (female baker), Brewster (female brewer), Spinster (female spinner). Webster thus carries a deep, underappreciated thread of women's labor history in its very etymology, even as it has been used almost exclusively as a masculine name.
The name's most resonant American bearer is Daniel Webster, the Massachusetts senator, Secretary of State, and one of the greatest orators in American history, whose career spanned the first half of the nineteenth century. His forensic brilliance earned him the nickname 'Black Dan' and 'the Godlike Daniel'; Stephen Vincent Benét's short story 'The Devil and Daniel Webster' (1936) immortalized him as a figure who could argue the soul of a New Hampshire farmer out of Lucifer's own hands — a mythological elevation accorded to very few historical figures. Noah Webster, his near-contemporary and the compiler of the first great American dictionary, gave the name an additional association with language itself, making Webster quietly synonymous with the authority of words.
As a given name, Webster carries the ease of a familiar surname and the intellectual heft of two remarkable historical figures. Its association with the 1980s American sitcom 'Webster' gave it a warm, approachable cultural presence for a generation, suggesting that names carrying great weight can also carry great affection.