Shropshire
A locational surname for someone who came from Shropshire, the English county on the Welsh border.
The #7,457 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 69,086 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is taken directly from the county name Shropshire. The place-name itself means the settlement or shire associated with Shrewsbury: the first element is linked to Shrewsbury, while the second is the Old English scīr, meaning an administrative district or county. As a surname, it originally identified a person who had moved from that county or was otherwise known by its place of origin.
History
English locational surnames like Shropshire became hereditary as people moved away from their home districts and were identified by where they came from. The name is relatively uncommon as a surname, but it follows the same pattern as other county-based surnames such as Kent, York, or Cornwall. In records and modern usage it is often found in Britain and in countries shaped by British migration, especially the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The county behind the surname sits on the Welsh border and has long been an important crossing zone between English and Welsh history.
From the historical record
“J:j|WN|S}fo,Newins,q.v. There is a Newnes village in Shropshire. NEWNHAM(Eng.)Be!.toNewnham;orDweller At the New Enclosure, or Residence, or Estate [A.-Sax. dat. form ' set Niwan- , kam(me,' i. niwe and (i) hamm, a piece of”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)