SHELDRICK
The surname Sheldrick is of English origin and was first recognised in the medieval records of the British Isles. It is a Christian surname that reflects the linguistic heritage of England.
The name is derived from the Old English personal name Sceldric, itself composed of the elements sceld, meaning shield, and ric, meaning ruler or king. Hence the surname can be interpreted as “ruler with a shield” or “kingly protector.”
An alternative line of derivation is from the Middle English word scheldrake, a bright-coloured male duck. The nickname denoted a vain or showy man. The word originates from the East Anglian dialect scheld, meaning variegated, which in turn descends from Middle Low German schelede. This Germanic root comes from schelen, meaning to differ, combined with drake, a male duck of Low German origin.
Early records show the surname in forms such as Adam le Sceldrake in 1275 (Suffolk) and John Sheldrake in the Calendar of Charter Rolls in London around 1276. Today the spelling Sheldrick is most common in East Anglia together with the variants Sheldrake, Shildrake and Shildrick.
In the mid sixteenth century on 20 October 1550 the parish register of St Giles in Norwich recorded the marriage of Rob Sheldrake and Jone Erle. An eighteenth century physician, Timothy Sheldrake, supplied the botanical text Botanicum Medicinale in 1759. The family was granted a coat of arms: a silver shield with a black fess between three sheldrakes proper, and the crest a sheldrake in the arms. The earliest documented spelling of the family name is Roger Scheldrac in the Pipe Rolls of Essex in 1195 during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199).
The surname Sheldrick therefore exemplifies the evolution of English surnames from personal nicknames, through dialectal and Germanic influences, to modern spelling variants. It remains a distinct marker of heritage associated with the historic county of East Anglia.
Typical given names associated with the Sheldrick surname
Male
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Martin
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Amanda
- Angela
- Angie
- Emma
- Jacqueline
- Janet
- Joan
- Julie
- Karen
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Sarah
- Susan
- Veronica
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Sheldrick in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 1,133 people named Sheldrick in the UK. That makes it roughly the 6,697th most common surname in Britain. Around 17 in a million people in Britain are named Sheldrick.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Sheldrick
- Daphne Sheldrick - Kenya-based British author, conservationist and expert in animal husbandry (1934 to 2018)
- David Sheldrick - Zoologist (1919 to 1977)
- George M. Sheldrick - Chemist
- John Sheldrick - Discus thrower and shot putter
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.