How to say it
SAW · yer
/ˈsɔ.jɚ/
Unisex
Sawyer
Wood-sawer
What it means
English occupational surname for someone who sawed wood, from Old English sagu ('saw'). Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) is the indelible American literary anchor.
Sawyer is an English occupational surname for someone who sawed wood (a sawyer worked timber into boards, often in a pit-saw arrangement with two-person crews). Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) is the indelible American literary anchor — Tom Sawyer's whitewashing-the-fence scheme is one of American literature's most-referenced episodes. Lost's Sawyer (born James Ford, played by Josh Holloway, 2004-2010) gave the name modern TV anchor. As a first name Sawyer is American and modern: rare before 2000, climbing fast since. It's now in the US top 200 and increasingly unisex.
Popularity over time
Feminine: peaked at #216 in 2021, currently #291 in 2025.
Masculine: peaked at #94 in 2015, currently #122 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Tom Sawyer (Twain, 1876) is the deepest American anchor; Lost's Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is the modern one.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Tom Sawyer Mark Twain's title character, 1876, his whitewashing scheme is American literature canon
- Sawyer (Lost) Josh Holloway's character in the ABC series, 2004-2010
Names with the same feeling
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