Spear Family History

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Spear Name Meaning

English: from Middle English spere ‘spear’, hence a nickname for a tall, thin person, or else for a skilled user of the hunting spear. In part it may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a maker of spears

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Speer, Pear, Shear, Sperr, Stead, Spoor, Soper, Fear, Spohr, Spears

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Spear Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Spear name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Spear. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    48%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    18%

  • Germanic Europe

    8%

  • Eastern Europe & Russia

    4%

  • European Jewish

    4%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Spear Family Origin

Where is the Spear family from?

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You can see how Spear families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Spear family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Spear families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 81 Spear families living in Ontario. This was about 43% of all the recorded Spear's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Spear families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Spear surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Spear

Spear Family Occupations

What did your Spear ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, a less common occupation for the Spear family was Millman. Farmer, Son and Cultivateur were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Spear. The most common Spear occupation in Canada was Farmer. 58% of Spear's were Farmers.

View Census data for Spear | Data not to scale

  • Farmer

    58%

  • Son

    8%

  • Cultivateur

    4%

  • Millman

    4%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Spear ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Spear Historical Records

What Spear family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 111,000 census records available for the last name Spear. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Spear census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1881 Canadian census records for Spear

Passenger List

There are 10,000 immigration records available for the last name Spear. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Spear immigration records

Draft Card

There are 19,000 military records available for the last name Spear. For the veterans among your Spear ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Spear military records

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Spear Life Expectancy

What is the average Spear lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Spear life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1946, and highest in 1993. The average life expectancy for Spear in 1940 was 34, and 76 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Spear

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Spear ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Spear Family Ancestors

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