Show ContentsSizemore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Sizemore is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived at the village of Scarisbrick, near Ormskirk in Lancashire. This place-name was originally derived from the Old Norwegian Brekka meaning hillside or slope and the Old Danish personal name Skar. Therefore the original meaning of the surname Sizemore would be Skar who lived by the hillside.

Early Origins of the Sizemore family

The surname Sizemore was first found in Lancashire at Scarisbrick, a village and civil parish that dates back to c. 1200 when it was listed as Scharisbrac and possibly meant "hill-side or slope by a hollow." [1]

"In the reign of Edward II. the manor appears to have been in the possession of a family of the local name, with whom it continued until conveyed, about the commencement of the present century, by the heiress of the Scarisbricks, to the Ecclestons, who assumed the name of Scarisbrick. " [2]

Scarisbrick Hall is a country house located south-east of the village and was the ancestral home of the Scarisbrick family and dates back to the time of King Stephen (1135-1154.) The family has held the property since the 13th century, but was sold in 1946 to become a training college. "Scarisbrick Hall is said to have been erected in the 11th century: it was inhabited by the family in 1567; and was improved, and re-cased in stone, in 1814." [2]

Early History of the Sizemore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sizemore research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1420, 1508, 1637, 1679, 1839, 1874, 1909, 1929, 1933 and 1970 are included under the topic Early Sizemore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sizemore Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Sizemore has been spelled many different ways, including Scarisbrick, Scarasbrick, Scaresbrick and others.

Early Notables of the Sizemore family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Henry de Scarisbrick (died 1420), fought at the Battle of Agincourt; and Thomas Scarysbrig, Doctor of Divinity registered at the University of Oxford in 1508.William Scarisbrick (1637-1679), also known as John Plessington and William Pleasington was an English Catholic priest who was executed by the English Crown for violating the ban on the presence of Catholic priests...
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sizemore Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sizemore Ranking

In the United States, the name Sizemore is the 1,420th most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. [3]


United States Sizemore migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Sizemores to arrive in North America:

Sizemore Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Madeline Sizemore, aged 27, who settled in Chicago, Ill., in 1919
  • George Sizemore, aged 25, who immigrated to Brooklyn, NY in 1923

Contemporary Notables of the name Sizemore (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore Jr. (1961-2023), American actor, known for his supporting roles in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Passenger 57 (1992), True Romance (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), Strange Days (1995), Heat (1995), The Relic (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and many more
  • Herschel Sizemore (1935-2022), American mandolinist in the bluegrass tradition from Sheffield, Alabama
  • Christine "Chris" Costner Sizemore (1927-2016), American woman with a multiple personality disorder, inspiration of the book and film The Three Faces of Eve
  • Ted Sizemore (b. 1945), American former Major League Baseball player
  • Scott Sizemore (b. 1985), American Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers
  • Jason Sizemore, American writer and editor
  • Grady Sizemore III (b. 1982), American Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians
  • Bill Sizemore (b. 1951), American political activist in Redmond, Oregon
  • R. T. Sizemore Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Clay County Democratic Party, 1961-62; Candidate for West Virginia State Senate 4th District, 1976 [4]
  • James M. Sizemore Jr., American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 1972 [4]
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


Suggested Readings for the name Sizemore +

  • Sizemore: The Descendants of Wesley Dudley and Ann Elizabeth by Ann Bunch.

  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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