Mawer has sometimes been described as a British occupational surname related to another British surname "Mower". However there is no reliable citation or clear origin for this. One argument against a speculated connection with the name "Mower" is that in the days when clerks (amanuenses) wrote what they heard from the illiterate public, they differentiated between Mawer and Mower, i.e. they were probably pronounced differently, even in areas where the same dialect was spoken. Another possibility worth researching is that "Mawer" is an Anglicised spelling of Mauer, a fairly common German surname, meaning "wall". If that were indeed the origin of "Mawer", it would explain both the differentiated pronunciation, and the Anglicised spelling. The surname Mawer may refer to: *

Allen Mawer Sir Allen Mawer (8 May 1879 − 22 July 1942) was an English philologist. A notable researcher of Viking activity in the British Isles, Mawer is best known as the founder of the English Place-Name Society, and as Provost (education), Provost ...

(1879–1942), English philologist *

Barbara Mawer Elizabeth Barbara Mawer (née Entwistle, 6 March 1936 – 7 March 2006) was a British biochemist and medical researcher. She was regarded as a "highly influential figure in the calcium homoeostasis field". Early life and education Barbara En ...

(1936–2006), British scientist *

Catherine Mawer Catherine Mawer (1803 - 11 April 1877) was an architectural sculptor who worked alongside her husband Robert Mawer, then following his death in 1854 she ran the family stone yard as a master sculptor at Great George Street, Leeds, West Yorkshir ...

(1803–1877), British architectural sculptor * Charles Mawer (born 1839), British architectural sculptor * Gary Mawer (born 1969), Irish sprint canoer *

June Knox-Mawer June Knox-Mawer, née ''Ellis'' (10 May 1930 in Wrexham, Wales – 19 April 2006) was a British writer of non-fiction books and romance novels and a radio broadcaster. In 1992, her novel ''Sandstorm'' won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by ...

(1930–2006), British writer * Philip Mawer (born 1947), British civil servant *

Robert Mawer Robert Mawer (Nidderdale 1807 - Leeds 10 November 1854) was an architectural sculptor, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. He specialised in the Gothic Revival and Neoclassical styles. He created the Neoclassical keystone heads on St Geo ...

(1807–1854), British architectural sculptor *

Shaun Mawer Shaun Kerry Mawer (6 August 1959 – 17 July 2010) was an English professional footballer who played for Grimsby Town as a full back. Career Born in Ulceby, North Lincolnshire, Mawer made his senior professional debut for Grimsby Town in Septe ...

(1959–2010), British football player *

Simon Mawer Simon Mawer ( ; born 1948, England) is a British author who lives in Italy. Life and work Born in 1948 and was educated at Millfield School in Somerset and at Brasenose College, Oxford, Mawer took a degree in Zoology and has worked as a biology ...

(born 1948), British author

See also