Scheer
A surname with more than one likely origin, most often linked either to a shearer/barber or to a Dutch place-name.
The #6,015 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,986 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In German sources, Scheer is often connected with Middle High German scher, meaning a shearer or barber, so the name may have begun as an occupational nickname for someone who clipped or shaved. Dutch scholarship also points to a place-name source in the eastern Netherlands, especially De Scheere, with Van der Scheer meaning "from Scheere." Because both explanations are historically attested, the surname may have arisen independently in different families.
History
The name appears in German and Dutch surname traditions, and related forms such as Knipscheer show the same tool-and-trade naming pattern. In the Netherlands, Van der Scheer is specifically associated with a locality between Coevorden and Gramsbergen, suggesting a toponymic line of descent. In German usage, it is also found alongside surnames built from shaving or cutting terms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers treated Scheer as a classic example of a trade-based surname built from the verb idea "to shear."
From the historical record
“Scharr — Schar , Schaar — Seherr — Scheer. Patr. A. Sehäring, Schering. Vklf. (1) Scherilo: Scharl — Scherle. Patr. A. Scherling. (k): Scharck — Scherck.”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen