Here's an exception to these general rules (first names appearing in surnames) is Peterman: you'd think it was some kind of relation to a relative named peter,

Here's an exception to these general rules (first names appearing in surnames) is Peterman: you'd think it was some kind of relation to a relative named peter, but it is actually a name for a profession. A Peterman was someone tasked with finding deposits of saltpeter for the production of fertlizer and gunpower. A partial documentation is on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltpetre_works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltpetre_works A better narrative of this industry is in Ed Conway's book "Material World" https://edconway.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-material-world https://edconway.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-material-worl...