This is an Anglo-Saxon descriptive nickname of the pre 8th Century which developed into an early medieval surname. It derives from the elements "schere" which translates as "to cut through" and "wind", the wind, and was a name given to a fast runner or professional messenger. The name developed in Germany as "Scheidewin", and in France as "Tranchevent", which was later Anglicized as "Trenchard". The surname development includes John Shirwyn recorded in the Norwich Diocese Wills Register in 1479 (King Edward 1V, 1461 - 1483), and John Sherwyn who is found in the Pipe Rolls of Suffolk in 1524 in the reign of Henry V111 (1509 - 1547). A Coat of Arms granted to the Sherwin family of Bramcote Hills, Nottinghamshire, is a black shield, with a griffin segreant per fess gold and silver, between three crosses crosslet fitchee of the second. A gold eagle, pellettee, wings expanded azure, is on the Crest. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert Scerewin, which was dated circa 1160, in the "Danelaw Rolls of Lincoln", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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