McGrath,

You've reminded me of some female surnames: Brewster, Webster, & Baxter (bakster) i.e. , brew-sister, web (or weave) sister and bake-sister, compared with Brewer, Webber or Weaver, and Baker. The female version of Spinner is not usually used as a surname but formerly as a descriptive but now as a more derogatory word, i.e. spinster. So, if a child was known more as the child of the weaver or brewer or baker, who happened to be a female, when the allocation of surnames occurred then the female word was used rather than the male.

Interesting, huh?

What about the surname "Jane"? There is an Oz tyre company called Bob Jane T-Marts. I look at that surname and wonder where it comes from. Was it also from a female name or does it have a different origin?

Helen