| Word/Phrase | Definition | Useage |
| Back Tenter | Employed at the back of the weaving looms, clearing away debris. Tenting was a term for watching items or a process. Small children were commonly employed in this dangerous job as they were small enough to work underneath the working loom machinery. | UK Occupation |
| Back Washer | Cleaned wool in worsted manufacture | UK Occupation |
| Back-Boy | Kitchen servant - from Back House Boy | UK Occupation |
| backe | hill | Swedish |
| Backmaker | Made 'Backs' - vats, tubs - a Cooper | UK Occupation |
| Backsmann / Backster / Beck / Becker | Baker | UK Occupation |
| backstugusittare | one who owned a small cottage, dugout dweller | Swedish |
| Bad Blood | Syphilis | Medical |
| båda | both | Swedish |
| Badger | 1) Licensed pauper - wore a badge with 'P' on it and was restricted to working a defined area (origin of 'Badgering') 2) Corn Miller or Dealer 3) Itinerant food trader | UK Occupation |
| Badgy Fiddler | Military boy trumpeter | UK Occupation |
| Bag Stitchers | In the Cheshire salt industry, Usually women, who closed the tops of filled bags of coarse salt ready for transport. | UK Occupation |
| bagare | baker | Swedish |
| bägge | both | Swedish |
| bägges barn | child of both parents | Swedish |
| Bagman | Travelling salesman | UK Occupation |
| Bagniokeeper | Keeper of a bathhouse or brothel. (From French, baigner, to bathe) | UK Occupation |
| Bailie / Bailie / Baillee / Bailiff | Bailiff - Sheriff's Officer, land steward acting for the landowner/landlord. In Scotland, a magistrate of the Burgh - also looked after fishing rights on some rivers | UK Occupation |
| Bailie | Magistrate in a Scottish burgh | Scot.Occup |
| Bailiff | Guard of fishing rights on a river | Scot.Occup |
| Bairman / Bareman | Pauper or beggar | UK Occupation |
| bakom | behind | Swedish |
| Bal Maiden | Female mine worker employed on the surface (Pit Brow Lass) | UK Occupation |
| Balancer | Employed in coal mines to operate a system of hauling coal tubs (Balance) | UK Occupation |
| Baler | 1) Baled hay 2) In the mills, one who baled wool or cotton goods | UK Occupation |
| bälgslag | colic | Swedish |
| Balister | Archer. Most commonly, a crossbowman | UK Occupation |
| Ballad Monger | Street seller of printed ballad sheets | UK Occupation |
| Ballard Master | In charge of ballasting vessels | UK Occupation |
| Ballast Heaver | Loaded ballast in ships - commonly stone. Necessary when ships were not carrying cargo | UK Occupation |
| Baller / Baller Up | Potter's assistant - measuring out the balls of clay. Also see Cotton Baller | UK Occupation |
| Balloon Blower (India) | Made rubber balloons - (rubber was known as India rubber) | UK Occupation |
| Band Filer | Metalworker in gun making | UK Occupation |
| Bandsman | Worked on the ropes and pulleys (bands) in coal pit hoisting arrangements | UK Occupation |
| Bandsmith | Made the bands for barrels | UK Occupation |
| Bandster | Bound wheat sheaves after harvesting | UK Occupation |
| baneman | slayer | Swedish |
| banesår | death wound, mortal wound | Swedish |
| baneslag | death blow, mortal stroke | Swedish |
| Bang Beggar | Parish Officer who controlled how long strangers could stay in the Parish | UK Occupation |
| Banker | 1) Dug drainage trenches/ditches, banking up the diggings along the edges. 2) General surface worker in coal mining. More Info. | UK Occupation |
| Banksman / Bank Manager / Browman | In charge of the cages at mine pitheads - sometimes known as a Bank Manager. More Info. | UK Occupation |
| Banksman | Mine worker at pithead unloading coal from the cages | Scot.Occup |
| bann | excommunication | Swedish |
| banna | to scold, chide, reprehend, reprove | Swedish |
| bannlysa | to excommunicate | Swedish |
| banns | See marriage banns | Colonial Diseases |
| baptism | The ceremony or sacrament of admitting a person into Christianity or a specific Christian church by dipping the person in water or pouring or sprinkling water on them; | Colonial Diseases |
| baptismal certificate | A formal document normally kept by a church of baptisms that occurred in their congregation. It typically contains the names of the individuals baptized, the date of baptism, where it took place, the clergyman's name, and possibly the names of sponsors and place of residence. | Colonial Diseases |
| baptist | Baptist | Swedish |
| bar barnet | carried or held the child (at baptism font) | Swedish |
| bar | carried | Swedish |
| bara | only | Swedish |
| Barber, Barber/Surgeon | Cut hair and also a surgeon. In the 18th Century, an Act was passed, limiting Barbers to hair cutting, shaving, dentistry and bloodletting | UK Occupation |
| Bard | Poet, Minstrel or story-teller | Scot.Occup |
| Bareman | Beggar or Pauper | UK Occupation |
| Bargee / Bargeman | Owned or worked on canal barges | UK Occupation |
| Barilla Manufacturer | Made Banilla, obtained from burning saltwort, the resulting sodium salt used in glass & ceramics | UK Occupation |
| Barkeeper | Tollkeeper - on toll roads | UK Occupation |
| Barker / Barkman | 1) Tanner of leather using tree bark 2) Fairground cryer | UK Occupation |
| Barleyman / Bylawman | Manorial Court official who enforced the court orders | UK Occupation |
| Barm Brewer | Made yeast | UK Occupation |
| Barmaster | Lead Mine arbiter. In charge of the standard measure for the lead ore | UK Occupation |
| barn | child(ren) | Swedish |
| barnbarn | grandchild(ren) | Swedish |
| barnbok | preconfirmation roll (in Finland) | Swedish |
| barnlös | childless | Swedish |
| barnmördare | murderer of a child | Swedish |
| barnmorska | midwife | Swedish |
| barnpiga | maid for children | Swedish |
| barnsäng | childbirth | Swedish |
| barnsängsfeber | perpetual complications or sickness at birth | Swedish |
| barnsbörd, barnsäng | childbirth | Swedish |
| barnsjuka | children's disease | Swedish |
| barnsnöd | complication at childbirth | Swedish |
| Baron Officer | Also known as Barony officer, employed to uphold the law within the Barony (District) | Scot.Occup |
| Barrel Filer | Employed in gun making | UK Occupation |
| Barrow Man | Pushed barrows of coal from pit face to the shaft | UK Occupation |
| Bartoner / Barton | In charge of a monastery farm or barton | UK Occupation |
| base-born | See illegitimate | Colonial Diseases |
| Basil Worker | Worked with skins of sheep and goats | UK Occupation |
| Basketman | 1) Make wicker baskets & furniture 2) Emptied coal baskets into barges | UK Occupation |
| Bass / Bast Dresser | Dressed fibre for matting | UK Occupation |
| bastard | See illegitimate | Colonial Diseases |
| Bath moulder | Iron foundry worker making moulds for cast iron baths | Scot.Occup |
| Bathing Machine Proprietor | Owned and hired out changing huts used by bathers at the seaside | UK Occupation |
| Bathsmaster | Manager at a town swimming pool or 'baths' | Scot.Occup |
| Batman | Army officers' servant - still current | UK Occupation |
| båtsman | seaman, sailor | Swedish |
| Batt Maker | Made the wadding (batts) used in quilt and mattress making | UK Occupation |
| Battledore Maker | Made the wicker beaters used on clothes & carpets to beat out the dust. Later made the paddles used in early washing machines | UK Occupation |
| Bauer | A Farmer | UK Occupation |
| Baven Maker | Made bavens - split and curled wood pieces used for kindling | UK Occupation |
| Baxter | Baker | UK Occupation |
| Bayweaver | Wove 'Bay'(baize) a fine woollen felt like fabric | UK Occupation |
| BCG | Board for Certification of Genealogists, P.O. Box 14291, Washington, DC 20044 (USA and international). Genealogists certified by the BCG must renew their certification every five years, through a renewal examination process. | Colonial Diseases |
| Bead Piercer | Made the holes in bead making | UK Occupation |
| Beadle / Bedel / Bedell | Town crier and parish officer who kept order | UK Occupation |
| Beadle | Parish official employed in church to usher and keep order. | Scot.Occup |
| Beadman / Beadsman / Bedesman | 1) Manorial tenant employed for a specific purpose 2) Inhabitant of a Poorhouse, Almshouse or Hospital 3) Employed to pray for his employer | UK Occupation |
| Beadman | Licensed beggar | Scot.Occup |
| Beamer | Drew the warp yarn through and onto the long heavy beam of a loom for weaving textiles | UK Occupation |
| Bearer | Carried coal to the pit shaft and placed it in containers for lifting to the surface | UK Occupation |
| Beater / Fuller | Cleaned and thickened cloth by treading it in water with Fuller's Earth | UK Occupation |
| Beaterman | Managed the Hollander Beater (invented in the 16th century in Holland) in a paper mill. A beater beats and crushes raw material, bruising and driving water inside the fibres | UK Occupation |
| Beatster | Made or mended drift nets used in fishing | UK Occupation |
| Beaver | Made felt for hat making | UK Occupation |
| Bedeswoman | An alms woman, licensed beggar | Scot.Occup |
| Bedman | Sexton | UK Occupation |
| Bedral | Minor Scottish church official | UK Occupation |
| Bedwevere | Made webbing for bed frames and also wove quilts | UK Occupation |
| Beer Seller | Sold Beer and Cider in Beerhouses under the 1830 Beerhouse Act. More Info | UK Occupation |
| Beeskep Maker | Made beehives | UK Occupation |
| Beetler | Operated the Beetling Machine, used for embossing textiles. The Beetling Machine was also used to give a Shiny effect to cloth as the pressure of the wooden rollers during the squeezing (mangling) of the Cotton Cloth added lustre | UK Occupation |
| befolkning | population | Swedish |
| begått H(errens) H(eliga) Nattvard | taken the Lord\'s Holy Communion | Swedish |
| begrava | bury | Swedish |
| begravning | burial | Swedish |
| begravningslängd | burial record | Swedish |
| begravningsplats | cemetery | Swedish |
| Beildsman | Licensed beggar | Scot.Occup |
| Belhoste | Tavern keeper | UK Occupation |
| Bell Hanger | Hung bells in church towers | UK Occupation |
| Belleyetere / Belter / Billiter | Bellfounder - bell maker | UK Occupation |
| Bellman | 1) Watchman or town crier 2) Worked for the Post Office, collecting mail by walking the streets ringing a bell Coaches then transported the mail | UK Occupation |
| Bellowfarmer | Maintained the church organ (which was bellows operated) | UK Occupation |
| Belly Builder | Built and fitted piano bellies or interiors | UK Occupation |
| Belly Roller | Operated a machine which rolled and compacted fibres on the belly of cattle hides | UK Occupation |
| Beltman | Changed and maintained the drive belts used in factory machinery | UK Occupation |
| benåd | pardon | Swedish |
| benämd | called | Swedish |
| Benchman | In chairmaking, cut out the seat portion. A shoemaker benchman cut the leather for boots and shoes. Also leather cutter for chairs. | UK Occupation |
| Bender | 1) Leather cutter 2) Bent wooden chair parts | UK Occupation |
| Beneficiary | One who receives benefit of trust or property. | General |
| benröta | bone-rotting disease | Swedish |
| Bequeath | To give personal property to a person in a will. Noun --bequest. | General |
| bequest | Legacy; usually a gift of real estate by will | Colonial Diseases |
| berg | hill, mountain | Swedish |
| bergfolk | mountain people, highlanders | Swedish |
| bergslag | mining district | Swedish |
| bergsman | miner | Swedish |
| Berlin blacker | Applied a dull black varnish as a coating for ironware products | Scot.Occup |
| beskattning | taxation | Swedish |
| beskrivning | description | Swedish |
| besökare | customs official (archaic), visitor (modern) | Swedish |
| Besom Maker | Broom maker, usually of birch twigs | UK Occupation |
| Besswarden | Appointed by a parish to look after its animals | UK Occupation |
| betjänt | servant, civil servant | Swedish |
| bettlare | beggar | Swedish |
| betyg | certificate | Swedish |
| bevaka | protect | Swedish |
| beväring | conscript | Swedish |
| beväringsman | recruit | Swedish |
| bevis | certificate, proof, evidence | Swedish |
| bevistat läsförhören | present at household examination (clerical survey) | Swedish |
| Biddy | Female servant - usually Irish | UK Occupation |
| bilaga | supplement, enclosure | Swedish |
| Bilious fever | Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile emesis | Medical |
| Biliousness | Jaundice associated with liver disease | Medical |
| Bill Poster | As today, put up notices, signs and posters | UK Occupation |
| Billier / Billyman | Operated a Billy Roller, used to prepare cotton for spinning | UK Occupation |
| Binder | Bound books, hats etc. | UK Occupation |
| biografi | biography | Swedish |
| biographer | The author of a biography | Colonial Diseases |
| biography | The history of an person's life | Colonial Diseases |
| Bird Boy | Scared away birds from crops | UK Occupation |
| Bird Catcher | Caught birds for sale | UK Occupation |
| Birlyman | Scottish ground officer or parish arbiter | UK Occupation |
| birth certificate | A formal document normally issued by a government body responsible for the registration of vital statistics within a particular jurisdiction | Colonial Diseases |
| Birth | The moment a person is born. | Genealogy |
| Bisabuela | Great-grandfather | Spanish |
| Bisabuelo | Great-grandmother | Spanish |
| Bisnonna | Great-grandmother | Italian |
| Bisnonno | Great-grandfather | Italian |
| biträde | assistant | Swedish |
| Black Borderer | Made black edged funerary stationery | UK Occupation |
| Black fever | Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate | Medical |
| Black plague or death | Bubonic plague | Medical |
| Black pox | Black Small pox | Medical |
| Black Saddler | Maker of cart and carriage saddlery and harness, and generally work with black leather | UK Occupation |
| Black Tray Maker | Made black (Japanned) trays | UK Occupation |
| Black vomit | Vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever | Medical |
| Blacking Maker | Made boot polish (usually using soot) | UK Occupation |
| Blacksmith | Worked (still does) iron with forge and hammer. | UK Occupation |
| Blackwater feve | Dark urine associated with high temperature | Medical |
| Blackworker | Embroidered 'blackwork' using black silks on, commonly, white fabric | UK Occupation |
| Bladder in throat | Diphtheria (Seen on death certificates) | Medical |
| Bladesmith | Made swords, knives etc. | UK Occupation |
| Blaxter / Bleacher /Bleacherer | Bleached cloth or wood pulp for paper in a 'Bleachery' | UK Occupation |
| Blaxter | Bleacher of cloth | Scot.Occup |
| Bleacher | Factory worker who bleached textiles, or paper | Scot.Occup |
| Bleachfield Worker | Cloth bleachwork factories were known as bleachfields from their early origin outdoors | Scot.Occup |
| Blemmere | Plumber | UK Occupation |
| Blentonist | Water diviner | UK Occupation |
| blind | blind | Swedish |
| Blindsman | Dealt with incorrectly addressed mail for the Post Office | UK Occupation |
| bliva | to become | Swedish |
| Block Cutter / Blocker | 1)Made wooden blocks for hat making 2)Laid the blocks for laying of a ship's keel in shipbuilding 3)Cut designs into wooden blocks for printing fabrics 4)Quarryman, whose job was to cut stone into useable blocks | UK Occupation |
| Block Maker | 1) Engraved or set up the blocks used in block printing 2)Made pulley blocks 3) Made hatmakers' blocks. | UK Occupation |
| Block Printer | Printed paper or fabrics by the use of inked and carved or engraved wooden blocks. (Block Printing) | UK Occupation |
| Blockcutter | Person who hand-carves wooden blocks used for printing | Scot.Occup |
| Blockmaker | A trader or broker | Scot.Occup |
| Blockprinter | Person who prints on paper or cloth with carved wooden blocks | Scot.Occup |
| blödning | bleeding | Swedish |
| blodsjuka | blood disorder | Swedish |
| blodslag | cerebal stroke | Swedish |
| blodstörtning | severe or sudden bleeding | Swedish |
| Blood poisoning | Bacterial infection; septicemia | Medical |
| Bloodman / Bloodletter | Used leeches to let blood, thought to be the cure for many ailments. Now being looked at again! | UK Occupation |
| Bloody flux | Bloody stools | Medical |
| Bloody sweat | Sweating sickness | Medical |
| Bloomer / Bloom Smith | Produced iron from iron ore | UK Occupation |
| Blower | 1) Glass blower; 2) Operated a 'blowing machine' to clean and separate textile fibres 3) Operated the blacksmith's bellows | UK Occupation |
| Blowfeeder | Fed the fibres into a blowing machine | UK Occupation |
| Blue Dyer/Maker | Used/made blue dye for whitening fabrics in manufacture or washing | UK Occupation |
| Blue Slater | Split blue roofing slates from rock from the Welsh hills | UK Occupation |
| Bluestocking | Female writer. From the Blue Stocking Society, formed in the 1750s and who wore blue stockings | UK Occupation |
| Bluffer | Innkeeper or pub landlord | UK Occupation |
| bo | to live, home, estate | Swedish |
| Boarder | Term used for a Lodger - usually dined with the family, whilst a Lodger did not | UK Occupation |
| Boarding Officer | Port official who inspects ship's papers on port entry - still exists | UK Occupation |
| Boardman | 1) Truant officer for checking school attendance 2) Manorial tenant who paid rent by maintaining the manor house table | UK Occupation |
| Boardwright | Carpenter. Made tables and chairs | UK Occupation |
| Boatman | 1) Worked on river and canal boats 2) Boat repairer | UK Occupation |
| Boatswain / 'Bosun' | Petty officer in charge of the ship's crew, also the ship's rigging and deck maintenance, responsible to the Chief Officer. Still in use today | UK Occupation |
| Bobber | 1) Metal polisher 2) Unloaded fishing boats | UK Occupation |
| Bobbin Carrier / Bobbiner | Supplied the looms with bobbins in spinning and weaving More Info. | UK Occupation |
| Bobbin Ligger | Placed the spools for spinning | UK Occupation |
| Bobbin Turner | Made (lathe turned) the wooden bobbins used in the textile mills | UK Occupation |
| Bobby | Police constable - still used today. (Colloquial) | UK Occupation |
| böcker | books | Swedish |
| Bodeys / Body Maker | Made the bodices for women's garments | UK Occupation |
| Bodger | A skilled craftsman who made wooden chair legs and spars using a lathe set up in home made workshops in deep woodlands. His work was often produced for chair factories | UK Occupation |
| Boiler Plater | Made rolled steel/iron plate for steam engine boilers etc. | UK Occupation |
| Boilermaker | Fabricated boilers for ships, or factories, by riveting or welding metal sheets. | Scot.Occup |
| bok | book | Swedish |
| bokhållare | bookkeeper | Swedish |
| böld | abscess, boil | Swedish |
| Boll hive | A disease which killed infants (meaning presently unknown) | Scot.Dise 1855 |
| Boll | Power loom attendant | UK Occupation |
| Bolter | Sifted meal | UK Occupation |
| bond | A contract to carry out specific duties, which if not performed satisfactorily, a penalty may be paid | Colonial Diseases |
| Bondager | Bonded female farm worker | UK Occupation |
| bonde | farmer | Swedish |
| Bondman | As for Apprentice - bonded to his Master to learn a skill or trade | UK Occupation |
| Bondsman | Stood the bond or surety for a bonded person | UK Occupation |
| Bone Lace Maker | Made pillow lace | UK Occupation |
| Bone Mould Turner | Made the moulds for button making | UK Occupation |
| Bone Picker | Rag & Bone Man. Collected rags and bones (originally) later any discarded articles / metals | UK Occupation |
| Bone shave | Sciatica | Medical |
| Bonesetter | Set broken bones | UK Occupation |
| Boniface | Innkeeper | UK Occupation |
| Book Edge Marbler | Decorated the edges of pages in bound books | UK Occupation |
| Book Gilder | Gilded book bindings with gold leaf | UK Occupation |
| Book Keeper | As today, looked after business accounts | UK Occupation |
| Bookholder | Theatre prompter | UK Occupation |
| Bookmaker | The 'bookie' accepts gambling bets, traditionally on racing horses, dogs | Scot.Occup |
| Bookman | Student | UK Occupation |
| Boonmaster | Surveyed, maintained and repaired roads | UK Occupation |
| Boot Catcher | Servant at an Inn who pulled off travellers' boots | UK Occupation |
| Boot Clicker | Worked a machine that made lace holes in boot uppers | Scot.Occup |
| Boot Clipper | Person using scissors cut the threads connecting rubber boot parts | Scot.Occup |
| Boot Closer | Stitched the shoe uppers to the soles | UK Occupation |
| Boot Laster | Person who shaped the uppers of boots on a metal 'last' | Scot.Occup |
| Boot Sprigger | Person who nailed the soles and uppers of boots together with 'sprigs' - small headless nails | Scot.Occup |
| Bootbinder | Operated machines in shoemaking, binding uppers to soles | UK Occupation |
| Boothman | Corn Merchant | UK Occupation |
| Boots | Employed by a hotel for general portering duties, assisting waiters etc. | Scot.Occup |
| Border entry | The location on land where new immigrants first enter a country. | Genealogy |
| borg | castle, fortress | Swedish |
| borgare | citizen, burgher | Swedish |
| borgmästare | mayor | Swedish |
| Borler / Boreler | Maker of borel - cheap coarse woollen cloth | UK Occupation |
| Borsholder | Kent regional name for a police constable | UK Occupation |
| borta | absent | Swedish |
| bortgift | married elsewhere | Swedish |
| bostad | domicile | Swedish |
| Botcher | Tailor or cobbler | UK Occupation |
| böter | fee, fine | Swedish |
| bötfälld | fined | Swedish |
| Bottiler / Bottler | 1) A person who made leather containers for holding liquids eg wine flasks or water bottles. From the turn of the 17c it would more likely refer to a worker in a bottling factory for beer, soft drinks, water etc. 2) In Punch & Judy shows that travelled from town to town in England, the person who collected money from the watching public. They called them 'Bottlers' as they used a glass bottle with a narrow neck so that the bottle could not be tipped upside down to take money out easily. | UK Occupation |
| Bottle Boy | Pharmacist's assistant | UK Occupation |
| Bottler | Filler of bottles, often in a distillery | Scot.Occup |
| Bottom Knocker | Sagger Maker's assistant - See Saggar Maker's Bottom Knocker. | UK Occupation |
| Bottom Maker | Moulded the bottoms for Saggers in the pottery industry | UK Occupation |
| Bottomer | Adzed out the finished seat from the rough shape in wooden chair making | UK Occupation |
| Boundary Setters / Layers | Employed by the Board of Ordnance (Ordnance Survey) for setting out and plotting important boundaries used in map-making. | UK Occupation |
| Bounty land warrant | A right to obtain land, specific number of acres of unallocated public land, granted for military service. | General |
| bounty land | Land given to military servicemen as payment for their services | Colonial Diseases |
| boupptekning | probate, estate inventory | Swedish |
| Bow Maker | 1) Made bows for use around Oxens' neck - used to adjoin two Oxen during farming. 2) Made string bows for musical instruments | UK Occupation |
| Bowdler | Worked with iron ore | UK Occupation |
| Bower | A maker of bows (for arrows) | Scot.Occup |
| Bowker | Bleached yarn. Also in parts of Lancashire, a butcher | UK Occupation |
| Bowler | 1) Maker of bowls and dishes 2) Made the bowls of spoons before casting | UK Occupation |
| Bowlman/woman | Crockery dealer | UK Occupation |
| Bowlminder | In charge of vats in which raw wool were washed before processing | UK Occupation |
| Bowman | Sub-tenant who farmed on a 'steelbow', requiring to divide annual produce with main tenant or tacksman | Scot.Occup |
| Bowyer / Bower | Made archery bows | UK Occupation |
| Box Shook Maker | See Shook Maker | UK Occupation |
| Boxmaster | Treasurer or deacon of a trade guild or association- eg Weavers Guild | Scot.Occup |
| Bozzler | Parish constable | UK Occupation |
| Brabener | Weaver | UK Occupation |
| Brachygrapher | Shorthand writer | UK Occupation |
| bräcklighet | frailty | Swedish |
| Bradish Man | A carpenter working in mines; the bradish man was responsible for ensuring a steady flow of clean air is cycled past the working face (especially of coal). He achieved this by closing off old shafts with well-sealed wooden doors. | UK Occupation |
| Braider | Made cord by twisting cords or leather | UK Occupation |
| Brailler | Made girdles | UK Occupation |
| Brain fever | Meningitis | Medical |
| Brakeman / Brakesman | 1) Operated pithead winding gear 2) Operated brakes on trains or trams | UK Occupation |
| Brancher | Colliery worker who cuts at the coal face, particularly a new seam or 'branch' from the road | UK Occupation |
| brännsjuka | feber disease, literally a 'burning disease' | Swedish |
| Brasiater | Brewed Ale | UK Occupation |
| Brasiator | Brewer | Scot.Occup |
| Brasiler | Dyer | UK Occupation |
| Brass Finisher | Removed burs and marks from brass foundry products by sanding, buffing and polishing. | Scot.Occup |
| Brass Founder | The founder poured molten metal into moulds to make brass buckles, handles, fittings. | Scot.Occup |
| Bratman | Made rough garments | UK Occupation |
| Brazier | Worked with brass | UK Occupation |
| Breakbone | Dengue fever | Medical |
| Breakman / Brickman | Bricklayer | UK Occupation |
| bredvid | next to | Swedish |
| Breech Maker | Made the breeches for guns | UK Occupation |
| Brewster | Maker of beer, a brewer. (also broustor) | UK Occupation |
| Brick Burner | Maintained the firing temperature in a brick kiln | UK Occupation |
| Bricksetter | Worked in a brick works. He worked in the kilns, stacking or 'setting' the bricks ready for firing | UK Occupation |
| Bridewell Keeper | In charge of a lock-up or jail | UK Occupation |
| Bridgeman / Bridger | Toll bridge keeper | UK Occupation |
| Bright's disease | Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys | Medical |
| Brightsmith | Metal worker | UK Occupation |
| Brimstone Refiner | Refined sulphur, one of the components of gunpowder | UK Occupation |
| bro | bridge | Swedish |
| Broad Cooper | Go-between for breweries and innkeepers | UK Occupation |
| Broadcloth Weaver | Wide(broad)loom operator | UK Occupation |
| Brogger | Wool merchant | UK Occupation |
| Broker | Essentially a salesman or middleman to a supplier for arranging sales. | UK Occupation |
| bröllop | wedding | Swedish |
| Broncho-pneumonia | Same as pneumonia, an inflammation of the lungs caused by an infection | Scot.Dise 1855 |
| Bronze John | Yellow fever | Medical |
| Broom Dasher | Broom dealer | UK Occupation |
| Broom Squire | Broom Maker | UK Occupation |
| bror | brother | Swedish |
| brorsdotter | niece, brother\'s daughter | Swedish |
| brorsson | nephew, brother\'s son | Swedish |
| bröstarvinge | heir | Swedish |
| bröstfeber | pneumonia | Swedish |
| bröstkov | shortness of breath | Swedish |
| bröstkvav | shortness of breath, can mean suffocation | Swedish |
| bröstlidande | chest disease | Swedish |
| bröstpassion | chest pain | Swedish |
| bröstsjuka | chest illness, pneumonia | Swedish |
| bröstvärk | chest pain | Swedish |
| bröstveda | chest disease | Swedish |
| Brotherer/Broiderer/Broderer/Browderer | Embroiderer | UK Occupation |
| brottfällig | epileptic fits | Swedish |
| Brow Girl | Female employed at the pithead | UK Occupation |
| Brown Saddler | Maker of riding saddles | UK Occupation |
| Brownsmith | Worked with copper or brass | UK Occupation |
| brud | bride | Swedish |
| Bruder | Brother | Germany |
| brudfolk | bridal couple | Swedish |
| brudgum | bridegroom | Swedish |
| brudpar | bridal couple | Swedish |
| bruk | foundry, mill, iron industry | Swedish |
| brukare | tenant farmer, leaseholder | Swedish |
| brukbrok | umbilical hernia | Swedish |
| bruksarbetare | foundryman, mill hand, iron worker | Swedish |
| Brush Drawer | Fixed the bristles into the stock or handle of a brush. More Info. | UK Occupation |
| Brush Stock / Stale Maker | Made the handles for brushes | UK Occupation |
| Brusher | Coal miner who repaired mine passage roofs and sides | Scot.Occup |
| bryggare | brewer | Swedish |
| Buck Washer | Laundress | UK Occupation |
| Buckle Tongue Maker | Made the pointed part of a belt buckle | UK Occupation |
| Buckler / Bucklesmith | Made belt buckles | UK Occupation |
| Buckram Maker | Made buckram - used for stiffening lapels, collars, cloth belts etc. | UK Occupation |
| Buddleboy | Used and maintained ore-washing vats in lead and tin mining | UK Occupation |
| Buddler | Women and children employed washing ore | UK Occupation |
| bukbet | abdominal pain | Swedish |
| bukrev | constipation | Swedish |
| bukvred | intestinal blockage | Swedish |
| Bule | Boil, tumor or swelling | Medical |
| Bullwhacker | Oxen driver | UK Occupation |
| Bum Bailiff | An officer of the court who went to a convicted person's home or business premises and siezed goods in lieu of payment of a fine, in default | UK Occupation |
| Bumboat Man | Seller of goods and foodstuffs from boats to ships at anchor (Typically Suez Canal) | UK Occupation |
| Bummaree | Fish market middlemen - between wholesalers and retailers | UK Occupation |
| Bummer | Army deserter | UK Occupation |
| Bunter | Female rag & bone collector | UK Occupation |
| Bureler | Maker of Borel, a rough woolen cloth | UK Occupation |
| Burgess | Represented a borough official at functions. Man listed as merchant or craftsman in a town burgh | UK Occupation |
| Burgonmaster / Burgomaster | Mayor | UK Occupation |
| burial record | A formal account normally kept by a church of burials that occurred in their congregation. Besides the names of the deceased, it may contain the age of the person at death, their birth date, cause of death, the clergyman's name, and possibly the place of residence at the time of death. | Colonial Diseases |
| Burler | Clothing quality inspector | UK Occupation |
| Burleyman / Byelawman | Manorial court official who enforced the court orders | UK Occupation |
| Burmaiden | Chambermaid or lady in waiting | UK Occupation |
| Burneman | Carrier of barm or water for brewers | UK Occupation |
| Burye Man | Grave digger - (bury man) | UK Occupation |
| Bushel Maker | Cooper | UK Occupation |
| Busheler | Tailor's helper | UK Occupation |
| Busker | Hair Dresser | UK Occupation |
| Buss Maker | Gunsmith | UK Occupation |
| Butner | Button maker | UK Occupation |
| Butter Carver | Prepared butter for sale | UK Occupation |
| Butty | Supplied labour to mines and negotiated contracts | UK Occupation |
| by | village | Swedish |
| bygd | countryside, region, area | Swedish |
| byggmästare | contractor, builder | Swedish |
| Byreman | Farm worker who looked after cows in the byre (cattle-shed) | Scot.Occup |