Recorded in a wide variety of spellings, although all are quite rare, this is an English surname, of pre 7th century origins. It derives either from a now "lost" medieval village called 'Scaemor' or similar, and and probably translating as "the marker stone at the edge of the moor", or the name is a transposed form of the surname Skirmer. This name is believed to derive from the ancient word "skirmen" meaning to fight or defend, and a nickname for a soldier or warrior. The first recording of the surname as Skiremar is 13th Century, (see below), and other early examples include William le Skurmere in the the "Subsidy Rolls" of the county of Sussex for the year 1296, and Robert le Skirmer in the 1332 "Subsidy Rolls" of Lancashire, both suggest the "warrior" origin. It is claimed that variations in the spelling include: Skeemer, Skeemor, Skermer, Skerme, Skyram, and Skyrm, and examples of the later spellings taken from surviving church register of the relevant period include: John Skeemor, who married Elizabeth Varney at Hugglescote with Donnington, Leicestershire, on November 2nd 1676, and Katherine Skerme, who married Thomas Hort on June 12th 1674 at the church of St. Katherine's by the Tower (of London). The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Richard le Skiremar, which was dated 1279, in the "Hundred Rolls" of Oxfordshire". This was during the reign of King Edward 1st of England, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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