An English surname, Sears comes from a French region of Normandy known as ‘serez’. The spelling variations for Sears include Seer, Seares, Seers, Seare and Seeres. In England the Sears family first settled in Essex. Over the centuries the families with the Sears name have moved into Kent, Middlesex, the city of London, Herefordshire, Buckinghamshire and then scattered to the north and far southwestern portions of the country. In Scotland the major location for many Sears families is Ayrshire in the southwest portion of the country. There are also some in Inverness-shire and Lanarkshire counties. Within the United States the early Sears families resided in Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Alabama. Famous: Richard Warren Sears (co-founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1893), Freddie Sears (professional English footballer), Minnie Earl Sears (developer of Sears Subject Headings for use in library systems), Francis Sears (famous physicist), Leah Ward Sears (Chief Justice of the Supreme court of Georgia), Peter Sears (musician and signer), Richard Dudley Sears (champion tennis player), Samuel Sears (clinical psychologist) and Claudius W. Sears (Civil War Confederate General).