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The info on the page "Behind the Name" has for Sherlock is so wrong it's not worth reading. The name is a thousand years older than that. It's originally from Old Norse and may have had, among other spellings one similar to this: Scirloc, meaning "Fairhaired." In 930 CE, according to Daniel Boorstin, for years Librarian of Congress, who wrote in "The Discoverers," Harold "Fairhair" brutally unified Norway--top of page 210. William Sherlock, c. 1641 – June 1707, was dean of London's St. Paul's Cathedral. In Ireland, Sherlocks (Scurlogs) entered with the Normans around 1100.

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This is what "Behind the Name" had to say:
SHERLOCK

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GENDER: Masculine

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USAGE: Literature

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PRONOUNCED: SHUR-lahk (English) [key]

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Meaning & History

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Used by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his character Sherlock Holmes, who was a detective in Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887. The character's name was from an English surname meaning "shear lock", originally referring to a person with closely cut hair.

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Ridiculously off the mark. Are they that bad with all surnames?

This message was edited 6/22/2014, 1:39 AM