Pierse is both a surname and a masculine given name. It is a variant of
Pierce, which is of
Norman origin. The name appears to be a corruption of the ancient French name
Piers, itself derived from the earlier Latin Petrus meaning 'a piece of rock or stone'. The modern French form is
Pierre. In connection with the early spelling of name Piers, the terminal s was possibly due to the influence of the French nominative singular ending, giving other examples of this peculiarity such as
Jacques and
Gilles.
[Ewen, C. L’Estrange, and C. L’Estrange Ewen. A history of surnames of the British isles: A concise account of their origin, evolution, etymology, and legal status. Baltimore, 1995.]
The name was brought to Ireland by the Normans during their settlement after the
invasions of 1169 and 1170. When adopted by the Irish, the name underwent a change, for the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
softened the
plosive
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or simply a stop, is a pulmonic consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases.
The occlusion may be made with the tongue tip or blade (, ), tongue body (, ), lip ...
Piers down to the
fricative
A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in ...
Piarais (Pronounced "Fearish").
Notable people with the name include:
__NOTOC__
Surname
*
Annamay Pierse (born 1983), Canadian swimmer
*
Catherine Pierse, Irish solicitor
*
Peter Pierse (1947–1991), Australian rugby league referee
*
Toddy Pierse (1898–1968), Irish Gaelic footballer
Given
*
Pierse Loftus (1877–1956), Irish-born British businessman and politician
*
Pierse Long (1739–1789), American merchant
*
Pierse Joseph Mackesy (1883–1956), Irish-born British Army officer
See also
*
Peirse (disambiguation)
*
Pearce (surname), a surname of similar origin
References
{{given name, type=both
Surnames of Norman origin
Surnames of English origin
English-language surnames
Patronymic surnames
Masculine given names
English masculine given names