Lowbridge

This most interesting and unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from a minor place so called, near Kendal in Westmorland, which is composed of the initial element "hlaw", the Olde English word for a hill, or the 12th Century "lah", from the Old Norse "lagr", meaning low, and the Olde English "brycg", a bridge. Hence the placename means a bridge by or on a hill, or the low bridge. During the Middle Ages when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more popular, people often used their former village name as a means of identification, resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. Early examples of the surname include: the christening of Sara, daughter of Robert and Margaret Lowbridg, on November 18th 1629 at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London; the marriage of Margaret Lowbridge and William Brasier on October 26th 1636 at St. Dunstan's, Stepney; the marriage of Ann Lowbridge and William Hunter at Manchester Cathedral, on May 31st 1762; and the marriage of William Lawbridge and Ann Corrall on December 29th 1795 at Lutterworth in Leicestershire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John and Katharine Lowbridge, which was dated February 2nd 1628, christening witnesses at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London, during the reign of King Charles 1, known as "The Martyr", 1625 - 1648. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.