Surname Shears - Meaning and Origin
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Shears: What does the surname Shears mean?
Shears is a surname of English origin. It comes from the Old English word "scear" which means a pair of scissors or shears. This surname was often given as an occupational name to those who made or used shears or scissors, particularly in the wool cloth industry. The word "shear" also has agricultural connotations, referring to a type of plow used in tillage. As a surname, it may have indicated a person's profession as a shearer in medieval times or as a plowman in farming communities. Surnames were often derived from a person's job or trade during the Middle Ages, and Shears is an example of this. The Shears surname has a variety of spellings including Shears, Sheares, Sheeres, Shear, Sheer, and others. It is quite common in England and has been traced back to at least the 13th century in different British historical records.
Order DNA origin analysisShears: Where does the name Shears come from?
The surname Shears is most commonly found in Great Britain and Ireland. It is particularly common in the regions of England known as the East Midlands and the West Country. The Shears name is derived from medieval times, when it was used for people who sharpened or cut swords and other metal items.
In other parts of England, the Shears surname is also found. It has been recorded in some Midlands and Northern counties. In Scotland, the Shears surname is seen in the eastern and parts of the south-central regions of the country.
The Shears name is not so common in the United States of America as compared to Britain and Ireland. It is however present in some parts of the country, such as New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. In the past 100 years, Shears has appeared in several significant events in the United States, such as the Civil War and the D-Day Landings.
Today, the Shears surname is present all over the world. The main countries where it is found include England, Ireland, Scotland, the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Since many people have migrated from Britain and Ireland, the Shears name is also present in South Africa, India, and other countries where the British and Irish have traveled and settled.
Variations of the surname Shears
The surname Shears has a number of variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin. These include Shear, Sheer, Shearman, Sheerman, Sharman, Shearmur, Sheermann, Sharmon, Shearn, Sharmane, Sheair, Shearer, Shearmane, Sheerin, Shearin, Shareman, Shairman, Sheeran, Shearsman, Sheerim, Seeram, Sawers, Shurman, and Shurmann.
The variants of Shears are derived from an Old French word ‘esclarcir’, meaning to shear or to cut off. The name Shears would have originally been used to describe someone who was an occupationally skilled cutter or dresser of cloth.
The name Shearer is derived from the Middle English word ‘scearier’, meaning shearer of wool and the Old French word ‘ocilier’, the ancient version of ‘scissor’. It was initially used as a surname for a person who was a wool shearer, someone who separated the wool fibres from the hairs.
The spelling Sheer is derived from the Old English word ‘scieran’, meaning to cut or shear and was once used to describe someone who was an agricultural worker, such as a shearer of sheep.
Sheerman, Sharman and Shearmur all have the same derivation and likely originated from the same Franche-Comté region of northern France. The meaning of all of these names is the same; a worker who was involved in cutting with shears.
The variants Sawers and Sheair are both derived from the Old French word ‘eschar’, meaning ‘shearer’. The variants Shairman and Sheerin both come from the Old French word ‘siere’, meaning ‘shears’.
The variants Sheeran and Sharmane have similar origins and the term Sharmane comes from the Old French word ‘escharman’, meaning ‘skilled worker with shears’. The spelling Shearn with an ‘a’ is derived from the Old English word ‘scearn’, which was once used to describe a person who worked with shears.
Finally, Shurman, Shurmann, and Shearsman all have the same origin and likely originated from the Netherlands. These spellings came from the Dutch word ‘scharenman’ and mean a ‘man skilled with shears’.
Famous people with the name Shears
- Annie Shears, singer/songwriter
- Paul Shears, actor
- J.B. Shears, former NFL player
- Miki Shears, Olympian
- Louise Shears, author
- Jesse Shears, rock musician
- Terrill Shears, basketball player
- Rita Shears, fashion designer
- Cameron Shears, hip-hop artist
- Georgia Shears, model
- Andy Shears, vlogger
- Jordan Shears, entrepreneur
- Willie Shears, racecar driver
- Miranda Shears, Make-up artist
- Trudy Shears, chef
- Steve Shears, motivational speaker
- Lola Shears, reality TV personality
- John Shears, politician
- Ethan Shears, drummer
- Aurora Shears, journalist