Show ContentsChaire History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Chaire Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Chaire

What does the name Chaire mean?

The name Chaire arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Chaire comes from the Norman name Essira which is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. 1 2 Additionally, the name is derived from the Old English "scir", meaning "fair, bright." 3 4

Early Origins of the Chaire family

The surname Chaire was first found in Surrey where they held a family seat from ancient times being Lords of the Manor of Shere recorded in the Domesday Book Survey taken in 1086 A.D. as being 'King's Land' and consisting of a church and mills. 5

The original name of the village of Shere was 'Essira' and it may be taken that this was also the original spelling of the surname, taken from an unknown Norman noble who entered into England with William the Conqueror in 1066.

However, we must look to Berkshire to find the first entry of the family, that of Walter Leschir who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1193. Later, Reginald le Scher was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire in 1327. 6

The Sherren and Sherring variants are believed to have originated in Devon, Dorset or Gloucestershire. 7

Early History of the Chaire family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chaire research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1614, 1666, 1668, 1685, 1710, 1716, 1766 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Chaire History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chaire Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Shere, Sheres, Shear, Shears, Sheares, Sheare, Sheares, Sheer, Sheers, Sheere, Sheeres, Shire, Shires, Shiers, Shier, Shiere, Sheir, Sheirs, Sheire, Sheires, Sherren, Sherring and many more.

Early Notables of the Chaire family

Sir Henry Sheeres (died 1710), English military engineer and author, was son of Henry Sheeres of Deptford, a captain in the Navy. "In 1666 he accompanied Edward Montagu, first Earl of Sandwich, the English ambassador, to Spain in a diplomatic capacity. On his return in...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chaire Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Chaire family to Ireland

Some of the Chaire family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chaire migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Chaire or a variant listed above:

Chaire Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Chaire, who landed in Maryland in 1641 8
  • Faith Chaire, who arrived in Virginia in 1665-1666 8
  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  4. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  5. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  6. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  7. Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
  8. 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)

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