Show ContentsShaerman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Shaerman is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was given to a person who was a person who worked as a sheep-shearer deriving from the middle English word "sheareman," which meant "shearer." Alternately, and especially in Norfolk, the name was derived from "shireman," that is, a person born outside the county. 1

Early Origins of the Shaerman family

The surname Shaerman was first found in various counties and shires throughout ancient Britain. In fact, "in [the] Domesday Book the Judge of the County-court was called a Seirman, i.e., Shireman. The Anglo Saxon scirmann is defined by Bosworth as 'a man who superintends, shireman, provincial, an overseer, governor, provost, bailiff of a hundred.' " 1

The earliest record of the name that we could find was Roger Sereman who was listed in 1207 in Leicestershire. A few years later William le Shereman was listed in 1281 and the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk list John Sherman in 1327. In the same year, the Subsidy Rolls of Essex listed Philip Shareman (Sharman.) 2

Early History of the Shaerman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shaerman research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1611, 1662, 1670, 1671 and 1687 are included under the topic Early Shaerman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shaerman Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Shaerman family name include Sherman, Shearman, Sharman, Shaerman, Shirman and others.

Early Notables of the Shaerman family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Philip Sherman (1611-1687), an English founding settler of Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, signer of the American Declaration of Independence. John Sherman (died 1671), was an English historian of Jesus College, Cambridge, a native of Dedham...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shaerman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Shaerman family to Ireland

Some of the Shaerman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shaerman family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Shaerman or a variant listed above: John Sherman, who settled in Boston in 1634; Phillip, Edmund, Thomas; and William Sherman all settled in Virginia in 1652; Thomas Sherman settled in Barbados in 1634.



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


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