Dear Family History

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Dear Name Meaning

from the Middle English personal name Dere, Old English Deora, in part a short form of various compound names formed with deore ‘dear’, in part a byname meaning ‘beloved’, or deor ‘brave’, ‘bold’. nickname from Middle English dere, Old English deor ‘wild animal’, or from the adjective of the same form, meaning ‘wild’, ‘fierce’. By the Middle English period the adjective was falling out of use, and the noun was beginning to be restricted to the sense of modern English deer, so that this may be the sense behind the surname in some cases.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Bear, Pear, Dean, Hearn, Lear, Day, Fear, Deer, Kear, Deary

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Dear Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Dear name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Dear. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    55%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    18%

  • Germanic Europe

    5%

  • Cameroon, Congo, & Southern Bantu Peoples

    3%

  • Eastern Europe & Russia

    3%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Dear Family Origin

Where is the Dear family from?

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1840
    1920
    You can see how Dear families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Dear family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Dear families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1840 there were 8 Dear families living in Mississippi. This was about 32% of all the recorded Dear's in the USA. Mississippi had the highest population of Dear families in 1840.
    Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Dear surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

    View Census Data for Dear

    Dear Family Occupations

    What did your Dear ancestors do for a living?

    In 1880, a less common occupation for the Dear family was Carpenter. Farmer, Keeping House and Laborer were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Dear. The most common Dear occupation in the USA was Farmer. 39% of Dear's were Farmers.

    View Census data for Dear | Data not to scale

    • Farmer

      39%

    • Keeping House

      9%

    • Laborer

      9%

    • Carpenter

      3%

    Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Dear ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

    Dear Historical Records

    What Dear family records will you find?

    Census Record

    There are 73,000 census records available for the last name Dear. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Dear census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

    Search 1940's US census records for Dear

    Passenger List

    There are 6,000 immigration records available for the last name Dear. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

    View all Dear immigration records

    Draft Card

    There are 11,000 military records available for the last name Dear. For the veterans among your Dear ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

    View all Dear military records

    You've only scratched the surface of Dear family history.

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    Dear Life Expectancy

    What is the average Dear lifespan?

    Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Dear life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Dear in 1944 was 23, and 78 in 2004.

    View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Dear

    An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Dear ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

    Famous Dear Family Ancestors

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