Meaning & use
Taylor
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounproper
A common English family name that began as a job name for someone who cut and sewed clothes.
Grammar: Written with a capital letter and used as a name: the Taylors live next door.
Patterns
- Mr./Mrs./Ms. Taylor
- the Taylors
Ms. Taylor teaches chemistry at the high school.
The Taylors have lived on this street for thirty years.
Our neighbor, Mr. Taylor, collects antique clocks.
proper nounproper
A first name given to boys and girls alike, taken from the surname.
Grammar: Works as a name for any gender: Taylor is joining our team on Monday.
Patterns
- Taylor is/was something
Taylor handed in the report before anyone else.
My cousin named her daughter Taylor.
Is Taylor coming to the picnic on Saturday?
Word forms
| plural | Taylors |
|---|
Common combinations
- Mr. Taylor
- Mr. Taylor locked the shop and went home.
- the Taylor family
- The Taylor family hosts a reunion each summer.
- Taylor series
- We used a Taylor series to approximate the function in calculus class.
- Dr. Taylor
- Dr. Taylor will see you in ten minutes.
- Taylor and Sons
- The sign above the door read Taylor and Sons, Builders.
Word family
Commonly confused: Taylor or tailor?
Taylor vs tailor
A tailor is a person who sews clothes, while Taylor is a name. People often mix up the spellings, but the name is written with a capital T and a y.
Practice
Which word is the name, and not the job?
Choose one answer.
Taylor, with a capital letter and a y, is the surname and given name. The other options all relate to making clothes and are spelled with ai.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Taylor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.