Turner is a common surname originating from Normandy, France, arriving in England after the Norman conquest with the earliest known records dated in the 12th century.

[1][2] Most often it derives from an occupational name applied to a maker of small objects out of wood, metal or bone, by turning on a lathe (from Old French tornier, "lathe", ultimately from Latin).

[3] In this sense it is analogous to the German surnames Drexel, Drechsler, Dressler, and Dreyer, Polish Tokarz, Finnish Sorvari, Russian Токарев (Tokarev) and related to English surnames such as Potter and Crocker.

[6] Early recordings of this surname include Ralph le Turner in the late 12th century.

The earliest recorded spelling of this family name dates from 1180 for "Warner le Turnur".