abstract:Farmer is an English surname. Although an occupationally derived surname, it was not given to tillers of the soil, but to collectors of taxes and tithes specializing in the collection of funds from farming leases."Surname: Farmer" (undated). Internet Surname Database. Retrieved May 22, 2010). In 2000, there were 68,309 people with the last name Farmer in the United States, making it the 431st most common last name in the nation.United States Census Bureau (undated). "Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000 (Top 1000 Names). Retrieved May 22, 2010.