The Shear surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,356 people carried this name — #9,669 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 87,700 people counted. That is up 1% from 3,318 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Shear surname

From Middle English schyre (“pure, bright, fair”). Also a German surname, variant of Schier, itself a variant of Scheuer or from a cognate of the Middle English word.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Shear» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

Shear in American newspapers,
1902–1909.

Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Shear
The Montgomery Advertiser 1902-07-02
Newspaper page from Evening Times-republican carrying the name Shear
Evening Times-republican 1908-10-09
Newspaper page from The Wibaux Pioneer carrying the name Shear
The Wibaux Pioneer 1909-09-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,380 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shear in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

2,238 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shear. The most, 371, date from the 1920s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 792
Queensland 521
Victoria 388
South Australia 275
Western Australia 135
Tasmania 113
ACT (Canberra) 10
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shear.

Who carried it

People named Shear,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Cornelius Lott Shear
    Cornelius Lott Shear 1865–1956 · mycologist
  • Harold E. Shear
    Harold E. Shear 1918–1999 · military officer
  • Theodore Leslie Shear 1880–1945 · classical scholar
  • Sherwood William Shear 1892–1978 · economist
  • David Shear 1896–1968 · businessperson
  • Josephine Platner Shear 1901–1967 · numismatist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shear,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States556 records

556 records of the Shear name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 181
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 140
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 92
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 65
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 38
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 33
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 7
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Raymond W. Shear

    Born 1925 in New York. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Dix, New Jersey; stock clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Acacia Park Memorial Gardens, North Tonawanda, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johanna Shear

    Arrived at New York in 1863 aboard the Thornton from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Felix Shear

    U.S. Army veteran. Born 1885, died 1955; buried at Bath National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 556 records for Shear in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia35 records

35 records of the Shear name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 29
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Patrick Shear

    Arrived in Victoria in 1862 aboard the Oceanica, aged 22.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Thomas Shear

    Left Hobart in 1824 aboard the Denmark Hill, bound for Rio De Janerio, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record May Shear

    Of Ormond, Victoria; died 1955.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 35 records for Shear in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Shear name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Shear

    Buried in 1918 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary Ann Shear

    Married 1841 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Edward Shear

    Listed at Cornwallis, Kings, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1791.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 5 records for Shear in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Shear name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Shear

    Northamptonshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Shear in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shear.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shear is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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