Ships passenger lists, census returns and other documents used in genealogy may give an ancestor’s occupation, this list gives more modern interpretations of those terms.
Packman – itinerant peddler
Palmer – a pilgrim; one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land
Paneler – saddler
Pannarius – clothier and draper
Pannebeter – pan-hammerer, or perhaps clothdriver
Pardoner – one licensed to sell Papal Indulgences
Parcheminer – parchment maker
Parochus – rector, pastor
Patton/Patten Maker – a maker of a clog shod with an iron ring; maker of iron-rimmed pattens for footware. A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end
Peever – pepper-seller
Pelliparius/Peltarius – skinner
Peregrinator – itinerant wanderer
Peruker/Perukmaker – wig maker
Pettifogger – shyster; lawyer
Pictor – painter
Pigman – crockery dealer
Pilcher – maker of pilches
Pinder – keeper of the pound or pinfold
Piscarius – fishmonger
Piscator – fisherman [Pescador in Spanish]
Pistor – miller or baker
Plantifene – see avernator
Plomer – plumber
Ploughwright – one who makes or repairs ploughs/plows
Plumber – one who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows
Porcher – pig-keeper
Porter – gate-keeper or door-keeper
Poulterer – dealer in poultry
Puddler – wrought iron worker
Pynner – pin-maker