| ![Show Contents]() Shorp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of ShorpWhat does the name Shorp mean? The ancient Scottish name Shorp was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. The original bearer of the name lived in Peeblesshire. The name Shorp is derived from the Old English scearp meaning "sharp" or "keen." 1 Early Origins of the Shorp familyThe surname Shorp was first found in Peeblesshire, where "there are few early notices of this surname. William Scharp was a tenant of the earl of Douglas in the barony of Kilbucho in 1376. Later, Patrick Sharp held land in Denburn in 1439 and John Scharpe was merchant and bailie of Dumfries, 1656." 2 "This name is rare or absent in the south-west of England and in the south coast counties, excluding Kent. It is also, generally speaking, infrequent in the north, except in the West Riding and in Cumberland and Westmorland. It is mostly crowded into Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Rutlandshire, and Nottinghamshire, extending also into the adjacent counties; but it is also fairly numerous in Kent. In Scotland it finds its home in Perthshire in the form of Sharp." 3 So as to confirm the preceding entry, the source Old English Bynames includes the Saxon entry for Healðegn Scearpa in Kent in 1026. Other early entries include: Ailmer Scharp in the Pipe Rolls for Herefordshire in 1184; Richard Serp in the Curia Regis Rolls for Cambridgeshire in 1210; Aylmer Sarp in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1228; and Alan Sharp in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296. 4 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: Alexander Scharp, Buckinghamshire; John Scharp, Sussex; and William Scharpe, Lincolnshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included: Adam Scharpe and Leticia Scharppe. 5 Early History of the Shorp familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shorp research. Another 159 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1431, 1433, 1454, 1474, 1535, 1613, 1618, 1638, 1639, 1643, 1644, 1650, 1651, 1661, 1679, 1681, 1689, 1691, 1702, 1707, 1714, 1735, 1742 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Shorp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Shorp Spelling VariationsSpelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Shorp has been spelled Sharp, Sharpe, Scharpe, Scharp, Schearpe and many more. Early Notables of the Shorp familyNotable amongst the family at this time was Jack Sharp (d. 1431), and English Lollard rebel, a weaver of Abingdon; his real name is given in the official documents as William Perkins, but some of the chronicles call him Mandeville; George Sharpe (d. 1638), Scottish professor of medicine who studied medicine at Montpellier; James Sharp (1613-1679)...
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shorp Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Shorp family to IrelandSome of the Shorp family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 115 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Shorp migration to the United States | + |
Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:
Shorp Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Jacob Shorp, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 6
| Shorp migration to Canada | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Shorp Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century- Mr. Augustus Shorp U.E. who settled in Adolphus Town [Adolphustown], Ontario c. 1784 7
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Dum spiro spero
Motto Translation: While I have breath I hope.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
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