Derived from Middle English eyer, eir "heir", originally denoting a man who was designated to inherit or had already inherited the main property in a particular locality. The surname was borne by the heroine of Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' (1847).
Truelove the "Eyr" or "Heyr" was granted land in Derby as a reward for his services at the 1066 Battle of Hastings, together with a coat of arms featuring "a human leg in armour couped at the thigh quarterly argent and sable spurred", in reference to the sacrifice of his limb. Some of these features may persist in one of the current Eyre coats of arms, which features three gold quatrefoils on a black chevron with a white background.Another variation of the story of the origin of the Eyre crest is that Humphrey le Heyr of Bromham rescued Richard Coeur de Lion at the siege of Ascalon, at the cost of his leg, and that the leg couped was granted to him in remembrance of the occasion.
indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
