Daily AncestorMariner
A mariner was a sailor, a man who worked aboard a seagoing ship; in older records the word could cover an ordinary hand or a ship's officer.
Mariner, sailor and seaman all name a person who works aboard a vessel as part of its crew, and mariner does not by itself show rank. Dictionaries treat it as a synonym of sailor, used especially of a seagoing ship.
Census rules counted seafaring men at their land homes, no matter how long they had been away, so a mariner may be listed with his family while his ship was abroad. The 1900 instructions add that a man who made his living by fishing was to be returned as a fisherman, not as a sailor.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Mariner." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/mariner. Last checked 2026-10-10.