What does the French surname Puryear mean?

Question:We think it is French. Enlighten me if you have any other ideas on the etymology of this name. Thanks.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: We think it is French. Enlighten me if you have any other ideas on the etymology of this name. Thanks.

It's actually a French name with French roots the go back all the way to the 12th century in France. Here's a brief background on it: http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/pa...

Samuel Puryear was a very well-known and well-researched character. You won't have any problem finding more information on him and getting help from other Puryear researchers to put things together. Stick with the GenForum site and you'll do well. They're wonderful about sharing information and having great sources to back it up.

Puryear is the English variant spelling of:
Perrier
French and English: occupational name for a quarryman, from Old French "perrier", an agent derivative of pierre ‘"stone"’, "‘rock"’.
English: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, from Middle English perie ‘"pear tree"’ + the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant