Shurlock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

When the Strongbownian's arrived in Ireland there was already a system for creating patronymic names in place. Therefore, the native population regarded many of the Anglo-Norman naming practices that these settlers were accustomed to as rather unusual. Despite their differences, the two different systems eventually merged together rather insidiously. The Strongbownians, when they arrived, displayed a preference for used nickname surnames. Two of the most prevalent forms were oath nicknames and imperative names. Oath names often carried blessings or were formed from habitual expressions. Imperative names, formed from a verb added to a noun or an adverb, metaphorically described the bearer's occupations. The nick name surname Shurlock is derived from a nickname for a short-haired person. However, at least one expert holds the alternative theory that the surname Shurlock denotes a fair-haired person. According to this theory, the name is derived from the words "scir," which means "bright," and "locc," which means "hair." The Gaelic form of the name Shurlock is Scurlóg.

Early Origins of the Shurlock family

The surname Shurlock was first found in Cheshire, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Shurlock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shurlock research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1595, 1612, 1641, 1646, 1678, 1689, 1691, 1707 and 1761 are included under the topic Early Shurlock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shurlock Spelling Variations

Names were simply spelled as they sounded by medieval scribes and church officials. Therefore, during the lifetime of a single person, his name was often spelt in many different ways, explaining the many spelling variations encountered while researching the name Shurlock. Some of these variations included: Sherlock, Scurlock, Scurlog, Shylock, Shyrlock, Sherlocke, Cherlock, Sharlock, Sharloch, Sherloch, Shyrloch, Charlock, Charloch, Sharlocke, Sharloche and many more.

Early Notables of the Shurlock family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was Paul Sherlock (1595-1646), an Irish Jesuit, born at or near Waterford; Richard Sherlock (1612-1689), an English divine, born at Oxton, a township in the Cheshire peninsula of Wirral...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shurlock Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shurlock migration to the United States +

In the mid-19th century, Ireland experienced one of the worst periods in its entire history. During this decade in order to ease the pressure of the soil, which was actually depleted by the effects of the previous years' grain crops, landowners forced tenant farmers and peasants onto tiny plots of land that barely provided the basic sustenance a family required. Conditions were worsened, though, by the population of the country, which was growing fast to roughly eight million. So when the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1840s hit, starvation and diseases decimated the population. Thousands of Irish families left the country for British North America and the United States. The new immigrants were often accommodated either in the opening western frontiers or as cheap unskilled labor in the established centers. In early passenger and immigration lists there are many immigrants bearing the name Shurlock:

Shurlock Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Samll Shurlock, who landed in Virginia in 1711 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Shurlock (post 1700) +

Arthur Shurlock (1937-2022), American gymnast who competed in eight events at the 1964 Summer Olympics

Citations +

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)