When was the "e" added to MEARS to make it MEARSE? Who added it?

Question

Mearse is my mom's maiden name. Yet, I think the Mears surname is just another spelling. When did this happen? Who did it first? Why?

Are there other spellings? What does it mean?

Answer 1

Until the 20th Century, surname spellings were not standardised and the way the surname was spelt was determined by who was recording the information. In the UK it would have been the church clerks, ministers, vicars, curates etc and the registrars that recorded births deaths and marriages post 1837. In most cases people never checked how their name had been recorded, even if they were literate. I have come across many marriages where the names have been written one way by the officiating minister, yet the parties have actually signed their name a different way.

Most people did not even know how their surname was originally spelt in previous generations.

Answer 2

Surnamedb.com does not show the Mearse spelling but it does show several variations of the Mears spelling.

Last name: Mears

SDB Popularity ranking: 4731

This interesting surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a topographical name for someone who lived by a pond, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "mere" meaning "lake, pond", or a topographical name for someone who lived near a boundary, deriving from the Olde English "(ge)moere" meaning "boundary". The surname dates back to the mid 13th Century (see below), and further early recordings include: Gregory de la Mere, listed in the Hundred Rolls of Wiltshire, and Adam del Mere (1307), in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire. Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Meares, Meers, Meres, Meeres and Merris. Recordings from London Church Registers include: the marriage of John Merer and Margarett Francis at St. Margaret Lothbury, on February 30th 1563; the christening of Joan Meares on November 18th 1587, at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster; and the christening of Lydia, daughter of William and Elizabeth Meares, at St. Sepulchre, on May 10th 1702. One John Mears (1695 - 1767) was an Irish presbyterian divine having studied divinity in Glasgow and received an M.A., in 1713. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert atte Mere, which was dated 1269, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Somerset", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Mears#ixzz5GFTpdo8K

 

 

Answer 3

Here are examples of the surname that is spelled Mearse:

 

Name Events Relationships View

Floyd L Mearse

Head

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1904 Texas

residence: 1940 Arcadia Election Precinct, Malheur, Oregon, United States

spouse: Ella M Mearse

children: Leland J Mearse, Wilma C Mearse, Bennie J Mearse    

Ella M Mearse

Wife

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1906 Kansas

residence: 1940 Arcadia Election Precinct, Malheur, Oregon, United States

spouse: Floyd L Mearse

children: Leland J Mearse, Wilma C Mearse, Bennie J Mearse    

Leland J Mearse

Son

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1927 New Mexico

residence: 1940 Arcadia Election Precinct, Malheur, Oregon, United States

father: Floyd L Mearse

mother: Ella M Mearse

other: Wilma C Mearse, Bennie J Mearse    

Wilma C Mearse

Daughter

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1928 New Mexico

residence: 1940 Arcadia Election Precinct, Malheur, Oregon, United States

father: Floyd L Mearse

mother: Ella M Mearse

other: Leland J Mearse, Bennie J Mearse    

Bennie J Mearse

Son

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1935 Idaho

residence: 1940 Arcadia Election Precinct, Malheur, Oregon, United States

father: Floyd L Mearse

mother: Ella M Mearse

other: Leland J Mearse, Wilma C Mearse    

Mammie Mearse

Head

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1880 South Carolina

residence: 1940 Election Precinct 15, DeKalb, Alabama, United States    

Hardie B Mearse

Head

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1913 Alabama

residence: 1940 Election Precinct 15, DeKalb, Alabama, United States

spouse: Overia Mearse

child: Yvonne Mearse    

Overia Mearse

Wife

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1913 Alabama

residence: 1940 Election Precinct 15, DeKalb, Alabama, United States

spouse: Hardie B Mearse

child: Yvonne Mearse    

Yvonne Mearse

Daughter

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1939 Alabama

residence: 1940 Election Precinct 15, DeKalb, Alabama, United States

father: Hardie B Mearse

mother: Overia Mearse    

Phillip Mearse

Inmate

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1923 Oklahoma

residence: 1940 San Jose Judicial Township, Los Angeles, California, United States    

Norman Mearse

Head

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1895 Texas

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

spouse: Arana Mearse

children: Vernita Mearse, Norman Mearse

other: Henry Cooper, Goldie Cooper    

Arana Mearse

Wife

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1901 Texas

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

spouse: Norman Mearse

children: Vernita Mearse, Norman Mearse

other: Henry Cooper, Goldie Cooper    

Vernita Mearse

Daughter

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1923 Oklahoma

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

father: Norman Mearse

mother: Arana Mearse

other: Norman Mearse, Henry Cooper, Goldie Cooper    

Norman Mearse

Son

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1924 California

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

father: Norman Mearse

mother: Arana Mearse

other: Vernita Mearse, Henry Cooper, Goldie Cooper    

Philip Mearse

Head

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1902 Texas

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

children: Frances Mearse, Philip Mearse, Benjamin Mearse, Velma Mearse, Vera Mearse    

Frances Mearse

Son

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1922 Oklahoma

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

father: Philip Mearse

other: Philip Mearse, Benjamin Mearse, Velma Mearse, Vera Mearse    

Philip Mearse

Son

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1923 Oklahoma

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

father: Philip Mearse

other: Frances Mearse, Benjamin Mearse, Velma Mearse, Vera Mearse    

Benjamin Mearse

Son

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1925 California

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

father: Philip Mearse

other: Frances Mearse, Philip Mearse, Velma Mearse, Vera Mearse    

Velma Mearse

Daughter

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1927 California

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

father: Philip Mearse

other: Frances Mearse, Philip Mearse, Benjamin Mearse, Vera Mearse    

Vera Mearse

Daughter

 

United States Census, 1940

 

birth: 1930 California

residence: 1940 Councilmanic District 15, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States

father: Philip Mearse

other: Frances Mearse, Philip Mearse, Benjamin Mearse, Velma Mearse