Shivers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Shivers surname is derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "chivere" or "chevre," meaning "goat." The Latin for a nanny goat "capra" has in the past been used interchangeably as the surname of some family lines of this name.

Early Origins of the Shivers family

The surname Shivers was first found in Devon. The first known ancestor of the name was Roger de Chievre and Petronilla living circa 1000 A.D. in a town in the south of Belgium called by that name. Roger's sons William Chievre and his brother Ralf de la Pommeraie, were companions of William the Conqueror in the invasion of England in 1066 and were given large estates in Devon. A William Chievre, 1 Capra was listed in the Domesday Book as holding land in both Devon and Wiltshire.

In Ireland, Sir William Chevre (living 1174) settled in County Wexford about the time of the Strongbow invasion and witnessed the foundation charter for Tintern Abbey, County Wexford. He was the progenitor of the family in Ireland. William Chevir, or Chevyr (died 1446) was a noted Irish politician and judge. His younger brother John Chevir or Chevyr (c. 1410-1474) was an Irish judge and politician who held the offices of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and was also one of the first recorded Speakers of the Irish House of Commons.

Early History of the Shivers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shivers research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1186, 1296, 1327, 1463, 1614, 1637, 1690 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Shivers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shivers Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Chever, Chevers, Chevercourt, Chevercot, Cheves, Chevys, Cheever, Cheevers, Chilvers, Chivers and many more.

Early Notables of the Shivers family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Ezekiel Cheever (1614-1708) English-born, immigrant to America in 1637 and became a schoolmaster, and the author of probably the earliest American school book, "Accidence, A...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shivers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shivers Ranking

In the United States, the name Shivers is the 4,710^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Shivers family to Ireland

Some of the Shivers family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 119 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shivers migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Shivers Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Shivers, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 3

Shivers Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James and Henry Shivers, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1847
J. M. Shivers, who arrived at San Francisco in 1850
J M Shivers, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Shivers (post 1700) +

John Shivers (b. 1830), Canadian-born, U.S. Marine stationed aboard the USS Minnesota during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865
John Shivers, American former politician, Member of the Ohio House of Representatives (1983-1990)
Louise Shivers (1929-2014), American author and writer-in-residence at Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia
Roy Shivers (b. 1941), American-born, General Manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League
Joseph Clois Shivers Jr. (1920-2014), American textile chemist, best known for his role in developing Spandex, in the 1950s, while employed at DuPont
Robert Allan Shivers (1907-1985), American politician, 37th Governor of the state of Texas (1949-1957)
Jason Shivers (b. 1982), American defensive back in the Canadian Football League
Chris Shivers (b. 1978), top-rated American bull rider
Wesley Davis Shivers (b. 1977), American professional mixed martial arts
LeVert Dwyer Shivers, American politician, Independent Candidate for U.S. Senator from Georgia, 1942 4
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Shivers Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: En dieu est ma foy
Motto Translation: In God is my faith.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html