FS needs more accurate information about my surname

Paul said: Richard

The source for the meaning provided (A Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges 1990, 2003, 2006) is shown at the bottom of the page to which you are referring. I was unable to find any other meaning - other than maker of wheels / wheelwright - on any of the other websites I just checked out.

However, of course there are likely to be other explanations as to its origin, especially if it has been anglicised from another European surname.

Unfortunately, FamilySearch will be highly unlikely to extend this feature to include the option to add these alternative origins, as you are requesting.

Tom Huber said: FamilySearch has limited resources. These kinds of information are provided more as an incentive to become engaged in researching the family.

If you want to include more information, then make use of the FamilySearch wiki, where you can reference (with a link) the original data, as well as provide research information on the family and spell out the different origins of the name.

You may have to request editing rights; those are usually granted within a couple of business days.

Richard Bruce Wheeler said: I don't understand the "limited resources" comment. The info I have is far more likely to be an incentive to become engaged in researching the family.

Juli said: Mr. Albert Wheeler is wrong about the origins of Wheeler. It is from the Old English word for "wheel", and it means "wheel-maker". His supposed counterexamples of "Webster" and "Brewster" are in fact the feminine counterparts of "Webber" and "Brewer", which are derived exactly as expected from "web" and "brew", respectively. The reason there is no parallel "Wheelster" is that women did not typically engage in the manufacture of wheels.

David Newton said: Maybe. However that is NOT the correct origin for the vast majority of people with that surname. It is an occupational surname with the same root as Wheelwright.

David Newton said: I didn't say that Wheelers would have Wheelwrights in the tree or vice versa. I said the surnames were both occupational with the same root. Same thing as the River Avons in England being really tautological in meaning with the same root as the Welsh word afon. Anything called River Avon is actually really the River River if the translation is used. Both avon and afon being the same word that's diverged skightly in spelling in different languages.

Similarly Wheelers and Wheelwrights are descended from people who made wheels. Since they're occupationally-derived surnames then by definition they have multiple root points and aren't actually one family.