Shearer
An occupational surname for someone who sheared wool or cloth nap, or did similar cutting work.
The #2,033 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,436 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Shearer comes from Middle English words for a cutter or shearer, especially someone who sheared cloth or wool. The root goes back to Old English scearan, meaning “to cut” or “to shear.” In surname use, it originally described a person’s trade rather than a family line.
History
The name is recorded in medieval England, with early forms such as Reginald le Scherere and Matilda le Scherher. Nineteenth-century surname writers treated it as a straightforward occupational name and linked it to the craft of shearing cloth. It survived in Britain and also spread to North America through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same trade gave rise to related surnames like Shearman and Sharman in older records.
From the historical record
“Cp. Scanth. SHEARER (Eng.) Cutter (of wool, cloth) [M.E. s(c)'herere, f. M.E. s(c)heren, O.E. sceran, to cut] Reginald le Scherere. — Pari. Writs, A.D. 1300. ' SHEARING (Eng.) i Bel. to Shearing or Sheering, A.-Sax. *Sciringas=(i'ii.& Estate of the) ScfR- Family [O.E. scir, bright,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)