THE PEAR MAN

Our line of the Perryman family has been successfully traced back to Devon England with the name possibly originating from the association with pears, either the growing off or working amongst!

Thought it rather cute that Allan and I were "peared" up at our Canadian Thanksgiving lunch yesterday.
Last name: Perryman

Recorded as Paraman, Pereman, Perriman, Perryman, Pearman, Piriman, Purryman and possibly others, this is an English surname. It derives from the pre 6th century Old English word "pyrige", meaning a pear tree, with the added suffix of "-man". This implies an occupational name for someone who either sold pears, or who worked in a place where pear trees grew.

Occupational surnames were amongst the first to be created around the 13th century. However they usually only became hereditary when a son followed the father into the same occupation. In this case early examples of the surname recording include William Perryman in the Hundred Rolls of Cumberland in 1279, whilst the Subsidy Tax Rolls of Somerset record Adam Purryman in 1327. Johannes Perysman was listed in the Poll Tax records of London in 1379, and on October 27th 1583 Ann Perriman was christened at St. Dunstans, Stepney. Other recordings include Richard Periman at St Leonards Shoreditch, on November 22nd 1824, and William Paraman who married Elizabeth How at the same church on August 12th 1844.

The coat of arms associated with the name has a gold field charged with a green chevron between three leopards heads. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Piriman. This was dated 1273, in the Hundred Rolls of Essex, during the reign of King Edward 1st of England, Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

We purchased the "Perryman" coat of arms when travelling the UK several years ago.