The lear Surname
lear Name Meaning and History
- English: habitational name from any of various places in northern France named with the Germanic element lar ‘clearing’.
- English: variant of Layer.
- English: nickname from Old English hleor ‘cheek’, ‘face’ .
- Irish: reduced Anglicization of Gaelic Mac Giolla Uidhir ‘son of the swarthy lad’ or ‘son of the servant of Odhar’, a byname from odhar (genitive uidhir) ‘dun-colored’, ‘weatherbeaten’. Compare McAleer.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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