Peerman

This interesting surname has two distinct possible sources, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, Parman may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and an occupational name for a grower or seller of pears, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "pere, peru", pear, (Latin "pirum"), which became "pe(e)re" in Middle English, plus "mann", man. Job descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. Parman may also have originated as a medieval nickname surname for a companion, peer, a "match", derived from the Middle English "pere", a peer, paragon, itself coming from the Old French "per, peer", a peer, paragon, ultimately from the Latin "par", equal. The suffix "man", when attached to a nickname, has augmentative force. Early examples of the surname include: Gilbert Perman, noted in the Calendar of Letter Books for the City of London, dated 1376. In the modern idiom the name is spelt Pearman, Pearmain, Pairman, Pareman, Peerman, Paireman and Parman. On January 17th 1564, Elizabethe, daughter of Richard Parman, was christened at St. Stephan's, Coleman Street, London, and on September 23rd 1611, Nicholas Parman and Anne Dawson were married at St. Giles Cripplegate, London. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is a gold shield, on a red chevron between three azure escallops, as many crosses crosslet of the first. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Pyrman, which was dated 1296, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Sussex", during the reign of Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.