Surname Scherhans - Meaning and Origin
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Scherhans: What does the surname Scherhans mean?
The last name Scherhans is an occupational surname of Germanic origin. It derives from the Middle High German phrase “scher hans,” which translates “one who sharpens” and likely refers to a blacksmith or swordsmith.
The surname is most commonly found among descendants of German-speaking immigrants who settled in the United States, South America and India in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Variations of the name are also common in countries along the Rhine River, including France, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
In the United States, the Scherhans surname is most commonly associated with families in Wisconsin, Colorado and North Carolina. In particular, the Wisconsin state historical society has noted an influx of German immigrants with the Scherhans surname to Wisconsin in the late 19th century, most of them having settled in the states’ towns and rural areas.
Generally speaking, the Scherhans family is believed to be of upper middle class standing in their respective communities in Germany from where they emigrated. Their trade of blacksmithing or swordsmithing likely provided the means for some of them to gain monetary success and their family traditions and values may have been passed down from generation to generation.
Order DNA origin analysisScherhans: Where does the name Scherhans come from?
The last name Scherhans is most commonly found in the German-speaking regions of Europe. It has quite a long history, tracing back to ancient medieval times when many villages and families were named after the ruling dynasty. The surname is a variation of the Old German term "Scherhanes" or "sherhan" meaning "spearman".
In modern times, many places where the name Scherhans are commonly found include Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. As of 2021, the greatest concentration of this surname is found in the German city of Berlin, where there are over 4,000 people with the name Scherhans.
Other notable countries where this last name can be found include France, Belgium, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Italy, and even the South American country of Brazil. It is believed that this surname spread to Russia from Central Europe in the early 1700s during a period of migration and armies traversing the region.
The Scherhans name is also seen in the United States, but it has been recorded to a much lesser extent. In America, people with the last name Scherhans can be found in almost every state with the greatest concentration in the states of California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Overall, the name Scherhans is most commonly associated with the German-speaking countries of Europe. Though it can be found in other places around the world, it is most associated with European countries like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Variations of the surname Scherhans
Scherhans is a surname of German origin and is believed to refer to a sword bearer in a castle, or as an occupational name for a swordsmith. The numerous variants and spellings of this surname result from the German phonetic translation into other languages.
The surname is found in various languages and countries as Scherhan, Schirhan, Scherhahn, Schirhahn, Scherhanz, Schirhanz, Scherhansz, Schirhansz, Scherrans, Schirrans, Scherransz, Schirransz, and Scherranz. Another variant is Scherhauns, which is found in countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
In the United States, Scherhans is sometimes spelled Schermens, Schirmens or Schermans. In some cases, the name also appears as Chermens, Chirmsen, Shirmes and Shurmans.
In the Czech Republic, the spelling with the 'z' is used, with the surname appearing as Scherhansz. In France, the name is spelled Scherhant or, less frequently, Scherhantz. In other eastern European countries, the spelling of the name is typically with a 'z', such as Scherhansz and Schirhansz. In the Netherlands, the name is also usually written with a 'z', such as Scherhansz, Scherhansas, Schirhansz and Schirhansas.
Although the name is German in origin, variants of it can be found in many other countries such as the United States, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
Famous people with the name Scherhans
- Joe Scherhans:Professional baseball player
- Matt Scherhans: Professional NFL player
- Franz Scherhans: Austrian architect and sculptor
- Pierre Scherhans: Luxembourg diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Mike Scherhans: Professional race car driver
- Joelle Scherhans: American actor and writer
- Harry Scherhans: Belgium physicist and inventor
- Maria Scherhans: German opera singer
- Wilhelm Scherhans: Dutch geographer
- Lisa Scherhans: German Olympian equestrian