This surname may be extinct

Earwacker Surname Definition:

This surname is likely derived from the Old English 'eofor' (boar) and 'wacer' (watchful,) a rare Anglo-saxon name that is found in the South of England. Given the concentration of Earwakeres and variants in the south, it is likely the name became corrupted in the late medieval and early modern period.

Read More About This Surname

Earwacker Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England191:1,282,91446,315

Earwacker Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is likely derived from the Old English 'eofor' (boar) and 'wacer' (watchful,) a rare Anglo-saxon name that is found in the South of England. Given the concentration of Earwakeres and variants in the south, it is likely the name became corrupted in the late medieval and early modern period. The exact meaning of eoforwacer is lost, but it is highly unlikely it had anything to do with watching boars, as there is no evidence of such an occupation. It probably has some relation to Anglo-Saxon animism – a belief that plants and animals possessed a spiritual essence. The boar was seen as possessing battle prowess and Anglo-Saxon warriors sought to tap into this spirit by wearing boar skins and accoutrements such as boar decorated-helmets. Thus it is likely that the name arose to name a watchful warrior who invoked the spirit of the boar, or a child who was named in an attempt to transpose such characteristics on to them.

  • 1061. Euerwacer: Charter, King Edward to Wulfwold, abbot; grant of land at Ashwick, Somerset
  • 1065. Evorwacer: Charter, King Edward to the bishopric of Wells
  • 1131. Wiuerona, the wife of Euerwacer of Ipswich: Pipe Rolls, 31 Henry I
  • c. 1130. Euerwacer de Gepeswic (Suffolk): Pipe Rolls
  • c. 1200. Bridin alumnus* Euerwaker: The Dublin Guild Merchant Roll

*Alumnus is Latin for 'foster son.'

— Forebears.io
DNA test information

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Earwaker94582/
Erbacker8223/
Garwacke8220/
Arwacher825/
Ahrbacker780/
Harbacker780/
Erbacke7510/
Arvaker752/
Arwache751/
Ouerbacker7412/
Garwacki71980/
Harwacki7127/
Arwaki6713/
Arwaky671/
Aruake671/
Arbeicker670/
Show All Similar Surnames

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Earwacker
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis