A person who makes shoes is called a shoemaker or a cordwainer. A person who repairs shoes, on the other hand, is called a cobbler. In fact, cobblers were forbidden by law to produce new shoes at different periods of time in European history.
The word "cordwainer" comes from an Old French word, "cordoan," which means the leather from Cordova, Spain. That type of leather was referred to as "cordwain" by the English, and it was favored by the upper classes for shoes. The word was used to describe shoemakers as early as the 12th century. "Cordovan leather" is a term used to describe several varieties of leather since the term found its way into the English language.
