Spearin Surname Project |
Where & When ... Temporal & Geographic Distribution England - Temporal & Geographic Distribution of Spearin variants UK censuses from 1841 to 1911 are available online (e.g.
at www.ancestry.com) and these were
searched for the frequency of occurrence of the different Spearin variants. To
find out how frequent surname variants are today, the One Name Study list was
used. This covers England and Wales combined and is available at the website Surnames of
England and Wales - the ONS list. The most common of our previously chosen variants was Spearing
followed by Spearman and Sperring. The variant commonly used by the early
London goldsmith family (Spering) decreased over time, and the variant Spearin
disappeared completely. Most other common Irish variants get very little
mention, although it is likely that the sudden appearance of the variant
Spierin in the present day represents a family from the Dublin branch who
emigrated to the Liverpool area after 1911. A similar story may explain the gradual
emergence of the variant Spearen after 1841. One gets the impression that many of the variants of
Spearin in England may be totally unrelated to the Irish Spearin variants. It's
possible that some variants have a single origin for the name, whilst others
have multiple origins (e.g. the variant Spearing may have arisen from a variety
of different sources. If this were the case one would expect to see several
subgroups of Spearing's with very dissimilar genetic signatures on Y-DNA
testing). Multiple origins for the same name variant would be particularly
likely if the name was occupational in origin (e.g. Smith) and in fact there is
some suggestion that Spearing, Sperring, Spering and Spearman originated from 'spear bearer', 'spear maker' or 'spur maker'. Name \ Source 1841 census[1] 1881 census[2] 1911 census[3] ONS List[4] Spearan 0 0 0 0 Spearen 0 4 10 37 Spearin 14 5 4 0 Spearing 371 581 195 989 Spearink 16 17 5 47 Spearman 297 475 153 994 Speiran 0 0 0 0 Speirin 0 0 0 0 Sperin 7 1 0 29 Spering 113 28 15 29 Sperrin 48 95 12 248 Sperring 277 474 103 775 Spierin 0 0 0 12 Archer Software's programme entitled The British 19th Century Surname Atlas (v1.10; available from the GOONS - Guild of One Name Studies) allows us to look more closely at the name Spearin and it's variants in the 1881 census. Click here to see a list of surnames from the census beginning with Spe, Spi, Spr and Spy. One assumes that many of the Spearin variants are in fact deviants and if we searched the 1871 and earlier censuses we would find that the name changes over time largely because of clerical errors. The most common Spearin variants (with the frequencies of their surname) are in the table to the right. I have split them into two broad groups - the more likely variants of the name Spearin, and the less likely variants. Prior to the 1841 census, distribution of the variants can be crudely assessed by analysing the International Genealogical Index (IGI) for the frequencies of variants in birth, marriage and death records. For example, according to the LDS website (at https://www.familysearch.org), 33 Spering births were recorded in England between 1800 and 1840, 60 between 1760-1800, 41 between 1720-1760, 31 between 1680-1720, 19 between 1640-1680, and 19 between 1600-1640. This exercise could be repeated and tabulated for the other Spearin variants. Geographic Distribution using www.publicprofiler.org The question arises whether or not the common variants
all share a similar origin. One way of exploring this notion, is to look at the
location for the various variants. We can assume that variants in close
proximity to each other are more likely to have sprung from the same source
than variants spaced far apart. The website www.publicprofiler.org was used to generate maps of the distribution of the Spearin variants comparing 1881 data with 1998 data. If there are less than 100 names in the 1998 electoral list, no results are returned. This was the case for all the variants except Spearing, Sperrin, Sperring and Spearman. (This exercise was later repeated with Archer Software's British 19th Century Surname Atlas, v1.10 - see below). Spearing In 1881, the highest concentration of Spearings was in the south-east of England. The map shows postal areas but the equivalent counties are roughly as follows (in order of frequency): Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Cambridgeshire. There was also a small smattering of Spearings in the Liverpool area. By 1998, almost 120 years later, the name is much more widespread, and there is a heavy presence at the top of Scotland, but the highest concentrations remain in the Somerset / Dorset area. Spearin Variants - 1881 Census More likely variants Less likely variants Spearing 574 Spiers 2466 Sperring 475 Spring 1453 Sperrin 97 Spear 1407 Spering 28 Speirs 1175 Spiring 26 Spears 714 Sperrings 23 Spires 615 Spearink 17 Spearman 473 Sperrins 13 Speer 216 Spirring 9 Spier 195 Sperrink 8 Sperry 148 Sperinck 8 Speir 134 Speering 7 Speare 133 Sperryn 7 Spyer 98 Sperinch 6 Speers 92 Spearin 5 Spire 80 Spearen 4 Speary 69 Sperink 4 Sperling 67 Spearon 3 Spyers 55 Speiring 2 Spearey 39 Spearant 2 Sperrey 19 Sperin 2 Spir 19 Sperings 2 Spira 10 Spernon 2 Speerman 7 Spirrink 2 Spirman 7 Spearent 1 Spirling 5 Spearint 1 Spierling 2 Sperron 1 Sprinck 1 Spiering 1 Spyring 1 In London, the highest concentrations of Spearings in 1881 were in the area of Bromley in Kent. There were smaller concentrations around the area of 'The City' (the present day financial district, close to where the London Sperings lived in the 1600's) and toward the west of London (Kensington and Hammersmith area). In modern times, there are still high concentrations of Spearings in Bromley, but the name is much more widespread, with highest concentrations are in West London. Sperrin, Sperring, Spearman Distribution maps for the variants Sperrin, Sperring and Spearman are shown below. What is striking about these maps is that all of these variants have a strong presence in the south-east of England, in the same areas as the Spearing variants (or directly adjacent). This is somewhat surprising as it suggests that at least some of these variants are probably directly related to the Spearings from these areas. There is also the suggestion that some of these variants are NOT related to the Spearings as they have arisen in parts of the country where the Spearings have no presence - for example, the Sperrins of Oxfordshire, the Sperrings of Wales, and the Spearmans of Northumberland in north-east England. The fact that no Spearings appear in these areas in 1881 suggests that these particular people arose from a completely different source. Genetic testing would help confirm or refute this theory. Geographic Distribution using the British 19th Century Surname Atlas More detailed results were obtained by using the British 19th Century Surname Atlas, which allows us to generate more complex maps. It is important to note that county boundaries changed
over time so it is necessary to compare county maps from today with county maps
from 1881. London, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire have all undergone noticable
changes.
To the right are two different maps. Both give details of the frequency of the 16 most common Spearin variants in the 1881 census, by county in the first map, and by Poor Law Union in the second. The counties where these 16 variants most frequently occur are summarised in the table below. County freq Middlesex 10 Somerset 7 Gloucestershire 7 Oxfordshire 6 Staffordshire 6 Surrey 6 Hampshire 5 Lancashire 4 Cheshire 4 Dorset 3 Cambridgeshire 2 However, in terms of density of population (as estimated by the Banwell Index [5], Somerset is the most densely populated county for the surnames Spearing, Sperring, Sperrin, and Spiring, whilst Gloucestershire is for Sperrins, Oxfordshire for Spearink, Staffordshire for Sperrings, and Hertfordshire for Spering. However, the numbers get quite small and it would only take one large family in the census to skew the calculations. (This is one reason why exploring surnames with less frequent occurrences than these 16 variants would be of limited value). Rather than looking at individual surnames, we can look at the most likely Spearin variants as a group. Using this approach identifies 29 most likely Spearin variants from the list of surnames in the 1881 census. And looking at the distribution of this group across the UK by county and by Poor Law Union reveals that the most densely populated county is still Somerset (Banwell Index 16.7 i.e. almost 17 times the national average) followed by the City of London (5.7), Hampshire (4.6), Gloucestershire (4.1), and Dorset (4.0). When we look at density of population by Poor Law Union, we see that most of the PLUs are clustered around Somerset and London. However, there are several areas around the country where there is a relatively dense area of Spearin presence which appears quite localised and isolated - islands of Spearin's if you like! There's one in Bromley (Kent), another in Blackburn (Lancashire), one in Oswestry (Shropshire), and another on the Staffordshire/Warwickshire border incorporating the Poor Law Unions of Dudley, West Bromich and Aston (just north of Birmingham). Looking at Somerset more closely reveals that the most desnely populated areas are Clutton, Axbridge, Chard and Wells, with slightly less dense populations in Barton Regis, Bedminster, Keynsham, Taunton, Langport and Yeovil. Putting all this together, it looks like many of the variants probably come from the same source, especially as regards those variants in Somerset. However, there is sufficient spread across other parts of England to suggest that some variants in these outlying regions may not be related to each other at all.
Lets look at the Poor Law Unions around Somerset more
closely.
Here is a list of each of the PLUs with the predominant variant in each one (looking only at the 8 most common Spearin name variants). Clutton,
Axbridge and Chard are the most densely populated PLUs, but the most people reside
in Axbridge (80), Barton Regis (71), and Clutton (64). Barton Regis and
Bedminster have 6 variant names each, whereas Frome, Bridgewater, Taunton, Yeovil and Chard have only one variant. Sperring predominates in the northern
part of Somerset and Spearing in the south. Could this represent two branches
of the same family that split apart some time previously, each branch retaining
its own particular spelling of the surname? Poor Law Union Variants (with actual numbers) Barton Regis Sperring (53), Spering (1),
Spiring (6), Sperrins (5), Sperrings (3), Spearing (3) Bedminster Sperring (11), Spiring (8), Spearing (7), Sperrin (4),
Spering (1), Sperrings (1) Keynsham Sperring (6), Sperrings (3),
Sperrin (2) Axbridge Sperring (66), Sperrin (12), Spearing (2), Clutton Sperring (61), Spering (2),
Sperrin (1) Frome Sperring (18) Wells Sperring (26), Spearing (5) Bridgewater Spearing (7) Taunton Spearing (24) Langport Spearing (7), Sperrin (1) Yeovil Spearing (14) Chard Spearing (45)
More likely variants Less likely variants Spearing 574 Spiers 2466 Sperring 475 Spring 1453 Sperrin 97 Spear 1407 Spering 28 Speirs 1175 Spiring 26 Spears 714 Sperrings 23 Spires 615 Spearink 17 Spearman 473 Sperrins 13 Speer 216 Spirring 9 Spier 195 Sperrink 8 Sperry 148 Sperinck 8 Speir 134 Speering 7 Speare 133 Sperryn 7 Spyer 98 Sperinch 6 Speers 92 Spearin 5 Spire 80 Spearen 4 Speary 69 Sperink 4 Sperling 67 Spearon 3 Spyers 55 Speiring 2 Spearey 39 Spearant 2 Sperrey 19 Sperin 2 Spir 19 Sperings 2 Spira 10 Spernon 2 Speerman 7 Spirrink 2 Spirman 7 Spearent 1 Spirling 5 Spearint 1 Spierling 2 Sperron 1 Sprinck 1 Spiering 1 Spyring 1 If we repeat the exercise with the less likely variants, we see much more spread in terms of density of population. Names like Spear and Speare are predominantly found in Cornwall and Devon (a possible overlap with Spearing in this area?), whereas Spears, Spiers, and Speirs are most heavily concentrated in Scotland and North-East England. Spires, however, is more common in Southern England but there is some suggestion of an overlap with Spears, Spiers, and Speirs which could suggest two separate origins for these variants. Sperry is quite localised to Leicestershire. Spearman is most heavily concentrated in North-East England and Suffolk, but also appears in Devon. This begs the question is there a possible overlap with Spearing in this part of the country? So what does all this tell us
about the origin of the Spearin surname? Well, there are three main
conclusions: Is there any evidence of a link between the London
Speringes and any of the Spearin variants? In his 1611 will, George Speringe
left land to his sons in Kent, Lincolnshire and London. Did this land still
have any Spearin living on it in 1881? The short answer is no, except perhaps
in London.[6] This is about as far as we can go with the 1881 census.
Fortunately, Bob Spearing has spent hours painstakingly collating information from the LDS
website, Google Books, and a variety of other online sources to trace all
Spearin families back before the 1851 census. His work takes us further back in time and helps us identify individual families, where they came from and how they spread across England from the 1500's onwards. This incredible piece of work is summarised in the
Traditional Genealogy section entitled Spearin families identified so far. [4] Accessed 24 Mar 2011. To find out how frequent your name is today in England and Wales, go to the website Surnames of England and Wales - the ONS list. This site has an extract of an Office of National Statistics [ONS] database, and contains a list of surnames in use in England, Wales and the Isle of Man in September 2002. The entire database contains over a million surnames, shared by 55.9 million people, but names shared by fewer than five people have been excluded from the list. The database was established in 1998, and births are continually added, but the 1.5 million deaths between 1998 and 2002 have not been weeded from the system. Experience suggests that multiplying the result for your surname by 0.93 will give a good idea of the living population for your surname, and that multiplying by 3.5 will give the population since the start of parish registers in the 16th century. [5] The Banwell Ratio or Index is described in Colin Rogers, 'The Surname Detective' (1995) pp.21-22: "The aim is to obtain a figure for each surname within a specified ... area which will indicate how far it is above or below the number which you would expect from an even distribution". It can be calculated as follows: Let X be the number of occurrences of the surname in the selected county, divided by the total population of that county. LetY be the total number of occurrences of the surname in the census, divided by the total census population. Then the Banwell number is Xdivided by Y) [6] In the will of George Speringe (1611), the following lands and properties are divided amongst his heirs: What to do now? Please feel free to email us suggestions, modifications and additions to this page. Specific areas where you could help include:
Up till now, we have just looked at the most likely variants of the Spearin surname. However, if you remember, at the beginning of this section we also had a list of less likely variants. Here's the table again below as a reminder.
Sep 2011
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Last update: Sep 2011