Myers Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Myers Family History

Myers Family History

The ancient origin of the name Myers was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Myers include Myer, Meere and Mires. This is a locality name meaning 'at the mire', from a person who lived near low lying swampy ground. This name is of English descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts in that country. Examples of such are a Johannes de Mire who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the year 1379. A Henricus del Myre was also recorded in the same year in this ancient document. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time.

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. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that 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.

Myers and Meere can also be the anglicized form of the native Gaelic O'Midhir sept name of County Clare.The Myers family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Myers descendants.