Poynter is an English occupational surname for the maker of cord that fastened doublet with hose (clothing). The name derives from the Middle English "poynte" and originally from the Latin "puncta", meaning to pierce. The first recorded spelling of the name was that of Benedict le Puinter, dated 1206 in the pipe rolls of Berkshire. Poynter may also be an Anglicised variant of the Huguenot name 'Pointier.'
