The surname of PAAR was a locational name 'of Parr' a township in the parish of Prescott, County Lancashire. The name was derived from the Old English word PEARR, literally meaning the dweller at the paddock, or from residence nearby. Brian Parr, died seised of the Manor of Parre in the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547). Catherine Parr, wife of Henry VIII was sprung of the Parrs of Parr. Richard Parr of County Lancashire, was listed in the Wills at Chester in 1637. A locational name usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. The original bearer would take his name from the village, town or the area where he dwelt. This name would identify his whole family, and would follow them wherever they moved. Following the Crusades in Europe a need was felt for a family name. This was recognized by those of noble blood, who realised the prestige and practical advantage that it would add to their status. The name could also have meant one who worked at the paddock, and these occupational surnames refer directly to the particular trade or occupation followed by the first bearer of the name. These occupations can be divided into classes such as agricultural, manufacturing, retailing and so on. In the Middle Ages, at least among the Christian population, people did not pursue specialized occupations exclusively to the extent that we do today. Smiths, millers and wrights were indeed specialists, but even they would normally have their own smallholdings for growing crops and keeping a few animals. Others were simply designated as the servant of some person of a higher social status, as a maid or parson. Most of the European surnames were formed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The process had started somewhat earlier and had continued in some places into the 19th century, but the norm is that in the tenth and eleventh centuries people did not have surnames, whereas by the fifteenth century most of the population had acquired a second name. |
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