An Irish and English surname of Butler originally came from the Old French term of ‘bouteillier‘, it means a servant in charge of the wine cellar. Other similar French terms are ‘butuiller’ and ‘boutilier.’

Two other spellings for Butler include Boteler and Boteler.

In England the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire, along with London and surrounding counties have a high percentage of Butler families. In Canada, the Butler surname is common.

Within the United States most Butler families are in Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. All of the southern states, including into Florida have many Butler individuals as well.

Famous: Benjamin Franklin Butler (Civil War Union general), Brett Butler (professional baseball player), LeRoy Butler ( professional football player), Ellis Parker Butler (writer), Gerald Butler (Scottish actor), Jerry Butler (singer), Ovid Butler (19th century abolitionist), Richard Butler (18th century American Revolutionary general) and William Archer Butler (19th century Irish historian of philosophy).