Occupations (“professions“) can provide valuable clues about the lives of our ancestors. Beyond a simple name and date, they offer a glimpse into a person’s daily work, social standing, skills, and sometimes even the community in which they lived.

French parish registers, civil records, censuses, military files, and notarial documents often mention occupations. While some are still familiar today, others have disappeared or evolved over time. Terms such as laboureur, charron, tonnelier, or garde champêtre may be unfamiliar to modern readers, yet they were once common throughout France.

This glossary presents a selection of occupations frequently encountered in French genealogical records, along with their English translations and explanations. Understanding these terms can help transform a name in a record into a real person with a place in the society of their time.

Occupations Found in French Records

• Allumeur de réverbères → Street lamp lighter
• Ardoisier → Slate worker
• Aubergiste → Innkeeper
• Batelier → Boatman
• Berger → Shepherd
• Boucher → Butcher
• Boulanger → Baker
• Bourgeois → Property-owning citizen (social status rather than occupation)
• Bourrelier → Harness maker
• Cabaretier → Tavern keeper
• Charcutier → Pork butcher / Delicatessen maker
• Charpentier → Carpenter
• Charron → Wagon maker / Wheelwright
• Chiffonnier → Rag picker
• Clerc de notaire → Notary’s clerk
• Colporteur → Peddler / Traveling salesman
• Cordonnier → Shoemaker
• Couvreur → Roofer
• Cultivateur → Farmer / Cultivator
• Curé → Parish priest
• Docteur → Doctor
• Domestique → Servant
• Épicier → Grocer
• Faïencier → Pottery maker
• Fileur → Spinner
• Forgeron → Blacksmith
• Garde champêtre → Rural constable
• Gendarme → Police officer
• Huissier → Bailiff
• Infirmier → Nurse
• Instituteur → Schoolteacher
• Journalier → Day laborer
• Laboureur → Farmer (land-owning farmer)
• Maçon → Mason
• Manouvrier → Manual laborer
• Marchand → Merchant
• Maire → Mayor
• Marin → Sailor
• Maréchal-ferrant → Farrier (horseshoer)
• Meunier → Miller
• Militaire → Soldier
• Notaire → Notary
• Pâtissier → Pastry baker
• Pêcheur → Fisherman
• Perruquier → Wig maker
• Postillon → Mail coach driver
• Précepteur → Tutor
• Rémouleur → Knife grinder
• Rentier → Person living on private income
• Sabotier → Wooden clog maker
• Saunier → Salt producer
• Sellier → Saddler
• Serrurier → Locksmith
• Tailleur d’habits → Tailor
• Terrassier → Earthworker / Excavation laborer
• Tisserand → Weaver
• Tonnelier → Cooper (barrel maker)
• Tuilier → Tile maker
• Vicaire → Assistant priest / Curate
• Vigneron → Winegrower
• Voiturier → Carter / Carrier

Occupations Often Seen for Women

• Aubergiste → Innkeeper
• Blanchisseuse → Washerwoman
• Couturière → Seamstress
• Domestique → Domestic servant
• Fileuse → Spinner
• Infirmière → Nurse
• Institutrice → Female schoolteacher
• Journalière → Female day laborer
• Lingère → Linen worker
• Marchande → Female merchant
• Nourrice → Wet nurse
• Rentière → Person living on private income
• Sage-femme → Midwife