Buswell

This unusual and interesting name is of Norman locational origin, from the town of "Beuzeville" in "Seine Martime" and was introduced into England (and later Scotland) after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The placename means "the village or settlement of Beuze", the derivation being from the Old French personal name "Beuze", itself of Germanic orign from "boese" or "bose", meaning "reckless" or "daring", plus "ville", meaning settlement or village. The final element has over the years become "well", because of the more familiar English placename ending "well" meaning spring or "stream". James Boswell (1740 - 1795) biographer of Dr. Johnson, descends from one "Roger de Bosvil" who held lands in Fife in the 13th Century. "Boswell, Buswell and Baswall" are the modern-day forms of the name. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Boesavilla, which was dated 1130, in the Staffordshire County Records, during the reign of King Henry l, known as the Lion of Justice, 1100 - 1135. 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.