Sherlock is an English surname turned first name, famously used by Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle for his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, the protagonist of his mystery stories beginning in 1887. The name derives from Old English scīr-locc, meaning 'bright-lock' or 'shear lock', originally referring to a person with closely cut or fair hair. It belongs to a group of English surnames describing hair color, alongside names like Blacklock and Silverlock. Etymology According to Wiktionary, the surname Sherlock likely comes from Old English scīr ('bright, fair') or