MEANING & HISTORY
What does Brewster mean?
Brewster is an English occupational surname used as a first name. Its older word formation referred to a brewer, with ster historically a feminine occupational ending.
The surname later ceased to identify only women, and its transfer into given-name use does not specify a bearer’s gender or profession. The occupational history supplies the supported meaning.
Pronunciation & syllables
A dictionary pronunciation or syllable division has not been verified for this exact spelling. Use the synthetic reading as a starting point and confirm the intended pronunciation with the family.
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
CebuanoEtymology & source
From English Brewster.
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Brewster (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Brewster in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Brewster
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Chester♂From Chester, ultimately Latin camp or fortress
- Ester♂♀Form of the biblical name Esther
- Hester·Latin form of Esther, with a debated deeper root
- Lester♂Given name taken from an English surname
- Brent♂Steep hill, through English place names
- Brett·Breton or Briton; surname-derived name
- Dexter♂Surname from a dyer; also Latin right-handed
- Peter♂Stone or rock
What rhymes with Brewster?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Explore Brewster further
Follow the sources
- Wiktionary contributors — Brewster (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary: Brewster (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Wiktionary: brewster (opens in a new tab)
Exact parent or lexical step in the documented formation; local relationship is supported by the exact name entry.
- Hanks, Dictionary of American Family Names, via FamilySearch: Brewster (opens in a new tab)
Occupational Middle English female-brewer surname history; first-name usage separately attested in exact lexical entry.
- Dictionaries of the Scots Language: brewster (opens in a new tab)
Specialist historical lexicon: female brewer, later extension to both sexes.