Comments (Meaning / History Only)
Never liked it, the sound is rather unpleasant. On either gender. Plus it's an occupation name.
1
1
Baxter is not labeled as female because, being derived from a surname, it is simply not used as a feminine name.
It could have originally meant "female baker" but this is something linguists disagree about. While in Old English the suffix -estre/-istre was feminine, since the Middle English period it began to be used without regard to gender, as seen in modern words such as prankster, trickster or youngster; yet spinster clearly has a female ending. Many surnames such as Baxter, Brewster (brewer), Webster (weaver) etc. Go back to the 13th century which is Middle English period, but whether this indicates female domination of weaving and baking trades at the time is unclear.
3
It could have originally meant "female baker" but this is something linguists disagree about. While in Old English the suffix -estre/-istre was feminine, since the Middle English period it began to be used without regard to gender, as seen in modern words such as prankster, trickster or youngster; yet spinster clearly has a female ending. Many surnames such as Baxter, Brewster (brewer), Webster (weaver) etc. Go back to the 13th century which is Middle English period, but whether this indicates female domination of weaving and baking trades at the time is unclear.
3
Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.
I've studied names since I was a child, and I've never seen this name listed as meaning anything other than simply "baker" and in only the list of masculine names. As well, other occupational names, such as Mason, Tyler, Mercer, etc. are all male, because when occupational names came about, they were like surnames to distinguish men with the same forenames in their villages. The governing bodies at the time were never concerned with what females were named, and most bakers in days of old were male.
In short, just because one source (this site) says "female baker" doesn't mean it's true. I would be happy to err on the side of this being the single "untrue" source that I've seen for this name.