Origin of the Name Pearson
The
Pearson family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Pearson is an ancient name meaning 'the son of Piers', a name of great antiquity. Variants of this name include Pearce, Pearse, Pierce, Pears, Peers, Peirce, Pierson and Peirson. This name is usually of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland , Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a Margota Peres who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England in the year 1379. A John Pereson was recorded as being the Bailie of Linlithgow in Scotland in the year 1472. A Robertus Perisson was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379.
In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland , especially during the seventeenth century. It was the 'Plantations of Ireland ' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that marked the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland . While the influx of settlers in the wake of the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.
An earlier family of the name arrived in 1566 and were granted estates by Elizabeth I, including the Abbey of Tristernagh in County Westmeath.
The Pearson coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Pearson descendants.