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Sayre is indeed an English surname, with the same complex derivation as Sayer, Sayers, and Sears. According to Reaney & Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames, it derives from a Norman French given name, which was perhaps a form of the Germanic name Sigiheri; or be an occupational name meaning either "sawyer", "shoemaker" "reciter", "assayer", or "silk-maker". Obviously one would have to be able to trace an ancestor back to a particular medieval person to know what the original derivation was for any particular Sayre family.

This message was edited 8/23/2006, 10:28 AM

Sayre is the name of a town in northern Pennsylvania. It was named after Robert Sayre, so again back to Sayre used as a surname. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre,_Pennsylvania When I was in middle school, I wanted to creative and spelled Sara as Sayra for a little while. How is this person's Sayre pronounced? The name of the town in pronounced in one syllable, as SAYR.

It could be a phonetic attempt at someone's pronunciation of Sarah ... and that should eliminate it for a son, but if it's a surname then no doubt it's up for grabs, for either gender.

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Might be a memory of Sawyer too!