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