Spears
Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Spear,” though it may also reflect an occupational link to spear-making.
The #830 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,410 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Spears is generally explained as a surname formed from the personal name Spear, with the ending -s marking possession or descent, so the sense is “Spear’s son” or “belonging to Spear.” The base name Spear is the old English word for the weapon, and in some cases the surname may also have overlapped with occupational names for a maker of spears or lances. The historical record shows related forms such as Speer and Speers, which support this family of names.
History
The form is found in English surname traditions and is closely related to Speer and Speers. 19th-century surname writers treated it chiefly as a patronymic from Spear, while also noting occupational associations with spear-making in the broader surname system. In later usage it became a well-established surname in Britain and especially in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes grouped Spears with occupational names for makers of weapons, showing how easily a byname could blur into a craft surname.
From the historical record
“SPEARIVIAN (Eng.) v. Spear, and -|- man. SPEARS, Spear's (Son) : v. Spear. SPECK = Speke, q.v. SPECKIVIAN = Speakman, q.v. SPEDDING for Speeding, q.v. SPEDDY for Speedy, q.v. SPEECHLEY"! (Eng.) Bel. to Spetchley SPEECHLY J (Wore. : a.d. 967 at Spceclea,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)