Faber (surname)

Faber is the Latin word for "smith". Like a few other Latin occupational names (e.g. Agricola for farmer, Nauta for sailor), it was adopted as a surname in the Low Countries and Germany. It is also common in England, perhaps due to Norman French influence. Notable people with the surname include:

• Adele Faber (born 1928), American author on parenting
• Andreas Faber-Kaiser (1944–1994), Spanish writer of German descent
• Antonius Faber (1557–1624), Savoisian nobleman and jurist
• Armin Faber (c. 1916 – c. 2000), German World War II pilot
• Aschwin Wildeboer Faber (born 1986), Spanish swimmer of Dutch origin
• Ate Faber (1894–1962), Dutch fencer
• Basil Faber (1520–1576), Lutheran theologian
• Brock Faber (born 2002), American ice hockey player
• Carla Faber (born 1971), Dutch art historian and politician
• Caroline Faber (1923-2016), English peer, daughter of PM Harold Macmillan
• Christian Wilhelm von Faber du Faur (1780–1857), Württemberg painter and army officer
• Claire Faber (born 1998), Luxembourgian racing cyclist
• Dave Faber (born 1975), Canadian singer and guitarist of Faber Drive
• David Faber (1928–2015), Polish Holocaust survivor
• David A. Faber (born 1942), United States federal judge
• David Faber (born 1950), American master printer
• David Faber (born 1961), British schoolmaster, formerly a politician
• David Faber (born 1964), American market news analyst
• Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham (1852–1931), British peer
• Donna Faber (born 1971), American tennis player
• Edmund Faber, 1st Baron Faber (1847–1920), British Conservative politician
• Eli Faber (1943-2020), American historian
• Elmar Faber (1934-2017), German book publisher
• Emmanuel Faber (born 1964), French CEO
• Erik Faber (born 1977), Norwegian pop/rock singer-songwriter
• Ernest Faber (born 1971), Dutch footballer
• Erwin Faber (1891–1989), Austrian actor
• Eugeniusz Faber (1939–2021), Polish footballer
• Felix Faber (1441–1502), Swiss/German Dominican theologian
• Floreta Faber (born 1968), Albanian ambassador to the United States
• François Faber (1887–1915), Luxembourgian cyclist
• Frands Faber (1897–1933), Danish field hockey player
• Frédéric Théodore Faber (1782–1844), Belgian landscape and genre painter
• Frederick William Faber (1814–1863), British hymn writer and theologian
• Frederik Faber (1796–1828), Danish ornithologist
• Gastón Faber (born 1996), Uruguayan footballer
• Geke Faber (born 1952), Dutch politician
• Geoffrey Faber (1889–1961), British academic, publisher and poet, founder of Faber and Faber Limited
• Georg Faber (1877–1966), German mathematician
• George Henry Faber (1839–1910), British insurance underwriter and Liberal Party politician
• George S. J. Faber (born 1959), co-founder of British production company Company Pictures
• George Stanley Faber (1773–1854), Anglican theologian
• Giovanni Faber né Johann Faber (1574–1629), German papal doctor, botanist, and member of the Accademia dei Lincei
• Gordon Faber (1930–2014), American politician, in Oregon
• Heike Faber (born 1965), German actress
• Heinrich Faber (before 1500–1552), German music theorist, composer, and Kantor
• Horst Faber (1921–2022), German figure skater
• Jack Faber (1903–1994), American microbiologist and lacrosse coach
• Jacob Faber (fl. 1516 – c. 1550), French artist and publisher (active in Switzerland), easily confused with:
• Jacob Faber Stapulensis (c. 1455 – c. 1536), French Renaissance humanist and theologian
• Jacob Faber of Deventer (1473 – c. 1517), Dutch Renaissance humanist
• Jared Faber, American musician, composer and producer
• Jean-Paul Faber (1930–2018), French sports shooter
• Jeannette Faber (born 1982), American long-distance runner
• Jelle Faber (1924–2004), Dutch-Canadian theologian
• Joachim Faber (born 1950), German lawyer and business executive
• Johan Adam Faber (1692–1759), Flemish composer
• Johann Faber (1478–1541), German Catholic theologian
• Johann Faber of Heilbronn (1504–1558), German Catholic preacher
• Johann Augustanus Faber (1470–1531), Swiss theologian
• Johann Joachim Faber (1778–1846) German landscape painter
• John Faber the Elder (c. 1660 – 1721), Dutch portrait engraver active in London
• John Faber the Younger (1684–1756), Dutch portrait painter active in London
• John Faber, Kansas politician
• John Eberhard Faber (1822–1879), German-born American pencil manufacturer
• Jules Faber, Australian cartoonist and illustrator
• Julian Faber (1917–2002), British insurance businessman
• Karl Faber (1773–1853), German historian
• Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), German founder of the stationery company Faber-Castell
• Katherine Faber, American researcher
• Keith Faber (born 1966), American (Ohio) politician
• Klaas Carel Faber (1922–2012), Dutch collaborator with the Nazis
• Leslie Faber (1879–1929), English stage actor
• Linda Faber (born 1960), Dutch freestyle swimmer
• Lo Faber (born 1966), American guitarist and songwriter
• Lothar von Faber (1817–1896), German industrialist, born Lothar Faber
• Lucien Faber (born 1952), Luxembourgian racewalker
• Lykele Faber (1919–2009), Dutch commando and radio operator during World War II
• Marc Faber (born 1946), Swiss economist and investor
• Marcus Faber (born 1984), German politician
• Marjolein Faber (born 1960), Dutch politician
• Mark Faber (1950–1991), English cricketer
• Martin Hermann Faber (1586–1648), German painter, architect, and cartographer
• Mary Faber (1798-1857), African slave trader
• Mary Faber (born 1979), American singer, actress, and dancer
• Mary Eliza Faber (1850–1936), English novelist and non-fiction writer
• Matthew Faber, (1973–2020), American television actor
• Matthias Faber (1587–1653), German Jesuist priest
• Michael Faber (1929–2015), British economist
• Michael Faber (born 1995), German footballer
• Michel Faber (born 1960), Dutch novelist
• Oscar Faber (1886–1956), British structural engineer
• Olaf Wildeboer Faber (born 1983), Spanish swimmer of Dutch origin
• Pamela Faber (born 1950), American/Spanish linguist
• Patrick Faber (born 1964), Dutch field hockey player
• Patrick Faber (born 1978), Belizean politician
• St. Peter Faber (1506–1546), co-founder of the Society of Jesus
• Peter Faber (1810–1877), Danish songwriter, photographer and telegraphy expert
• Peter Faber (born 1943), Dutch film and television actor
• Philip Faber (1564–1630), Italian Franciscan theologian and philosopher
• Phyllis M. Faber (born 1927), American botanist
• Pierre Faber (born 1978), German rugby union player
• Rasmus Faber (born 1979), Swedish DJ, pianist and music producer
• Red Faber (1888–1976), American baseball pitcher
• Roland Faber (born 1960), American theologian
• Samantha "Sam" Faber (born 1987), American ice hockey player
• Sandra Faber (born 1944), American astronomer
• Simon Faber (born 1968), German politician and mayor
• Steve Faber, American screenwriter
• Tanaquil Faber (1615–1672), French classical scholar
• Tobias Faber (1915–2010), Danish architect
• Tom Faber (1927–2004), British physicist and publisher
• Toos Faber-de Heer (1929-2020), Dutch TV presenter and civil servant
• Urijah Faber (born 1979), American mixed martial arts fighter
• Vance Faber (born 1944), American mathematician
• Walter Vavasour Faber (1857–1928), English Conservative politician and soldier
• Wenzel Faber (1455–1518), Bohemian astronomer, astrologer and theologian
• William F. Faber (bishop) (1860–1934), American Episcopalian bishop
• William F. Faber (politician) (1858-1951), American politician

Fictional characters:

• Faber, a former professor in Fahrenheit 451
• Emil Faber, Founder of Faber College in the film Animal House
• Henry Faber, German spy in the Ken Follett novel Eye of the Needle
• Jacky Faber, female protagonist in the novel Bloody Jack and its sequels
• Mike Faber, character in Homeland (TV series)
• Daniel Aurifaber (Goldsmith), character in The Sanctuary Sparrow, a Cadfael novel by Ellis Peters