Tregear

This surname is of early Cornish origin, and is a locational name from any of the various places named with the Cornish "tre", homestead, settlement, plus the definite article "an", and "ker", fort, farmhouse encircled by a hedge. The latter element shows the mutation of "k" to "g". Surnames derived from places of residence are the most prolific of Cornish surnames, and an old rhyme reads, "By tre-(homestead), Pol-(pool) and Pen-(head, end), Ye may know most Cornish men". This placename occurs in eight Cornish parishes, including Tregear in Egloskerry (the fort referred to here is the earthwork on Tregeare Down); and Tregeare Rounds in St. Kew. The dialect "rounds" means "hill-fort" and refers, in this case, to the fort near the neighbouring farm of Tregeare. One John de Trengyer was noted in Records of Egloskerry, Cornwall, in 1284. In the modern idiom the surname has five spelling variations: Tregeare, Tregear, Tregears, Tregair and Tregare. On March 30th 1561, Christian Tregear and Sampson Richard were married in East Newlyn, Cornwall. A Coat of Arms granted to the family in the reign of Henry V111 is a silver shield with a black fess between three Cornish choughs proper. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard de Tregyer, which was dated 1284, in "Medieval Records of Egloskerry", Cornwall, during the reign of King 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.