Sharper - Meno

Ths unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is a variant of the nickname surname "Sharp" or "Sharpe". The name was applied to someone considered to be "sharp, quick or smart", and derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "scearp", sharp, in Middle English "scharp". The surnames Sharp(e) and Sharper are found recorded all over the British Isles with great frequency as would be expected of a soubiquet likely to be handed down as being complimentary. John Sharpre was christened on the 27th July 1563 at St. Mary's Whitechapel, London and the marriage between Rebecca Sharper and John Houtens was recorded on the 17th October 1642 at St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Healthegn Scearpa, which was dated 1026, The Olde English Bynames, Kent, during the reign of King Canute, 1016 - 1035. 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.