Danbury

This is an interesting name of medieval English origin and is locational from an Old English pre 7th Century personal name "Dene" plus "Dyrig", a fort or a town, thus, the burg of Dene's people. The earliest recording of the placename is in the Domesday Book of 1086 and it appears as "Danengeberia". By 1254, Hunt's "The Valuation or Norwich", records this name as "Dainngbery", and in the Hundred Rolls of 1274 as "Danwebiry". Amongst the sample recordings is, one Elizabeth Danbury who was christened at St. Mary of Whitechapel Stepney, London on 24th April 1708. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Daniel Danbury, witness, which was dated 29th February 1707, St. Dunstan, Stepney, London, during the reign of Queen Anne, "The Last Stuart Monarch", 1702 - 1714. 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.