ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1615
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1615
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04 May 1999
From: Jodi McMaster 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wrote about the name <Sear>, which the "Complete Dictionary of
English and Hebrew First Names" indicated was an Old English name
meaning 'battle.'

Before I start, I'd like to clarify the service that the Academy offers.
We try to help Societyfolk in choosing and using names that fit the
historical cultures they are trying to re-create. Our research can
sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but
that is not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the    
College's needs. If your main goal is to register a particular name,
then we may not be able to help you. 

We're not familiar with the source to which you refer.  <Sear> appears
to be a variant of the surname <Sayer>, which came from a Norman given
name. [1] This name is derived from an Old German name, probably
<Sigiheri>.  The first half of the name, <Sigi->, is related to the word
for 'victory' rather than 'battle'.

The closest Old English names we found are <Saeric>, <Saeraed>. [1, 2]
These names are pronounced approximately \S&-ritch\ and \S&-red\
respectively; \&\ is the vowel of <cat>.

The first half, <Sae->, of these names is connected with the word
meaning 'sea'.  We are not aware of any Old English names beginning with
"s" that are connected with the meaning 'battle'.

We did find an Anglo-Norman name, rather than an Old English one, that
is the root of the modern surname <Sear>.  We found the following 12th
to 14th century spellings of the given name: [1]:

        Saher 1147-53
        Seir  1148-52
        Seherus, Seuherus c.1155
        Seyr'  1205
        Seer   12th C
        Saerus 1318

These would have a range of pronunciations like \SAH-air\, \SAY-air\,
and \SAY-eer\.

We hope this letter has been helpful.  Please write us again if any part
of it has been unclear or if you have other questions.  Talan Gwynek and
Arval d'Espas Nord contributed comments and/or research for this letter.

For the Academy,

   AElfwyn aet Gyrwum
   May 4, 1999
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References:

[1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995) s.n. Sayer,
Search, Sear.

[2] Stro:m, Hilmer, _Old English Personal Names in Bede's History: An
Etymological-Phonological Investigation_, Lund Studies in English 8, 33
(Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1939).