Evreux

This interesting surname is of Norman origin, introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066, and is a locational name from "Evreux" in Eure, Normandy. The place is so called from having apparently been the capital of the "Eburovices", a Gaulish tribe. This tribal name appears in turn to derive from the river name "Ebura" (now the Eure), which may perhaps be akin to a Celtic word for the yew tree. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 11th Century (see below), and has many variant spellings ranging from Everist, Everix, Everiss and Evreux to Deveraux, Devereux, Devereu and Deverose. Walter de Eureus is noted in the 1159 Pipe Rolls of Herefordshire, and Stephen de Euereus is listed in the 1199 Memoranda Rolls of Worcestershire. Recordings of the surname from London Church Registers include: the marriage of Ellyn Everest and Edward Pullinger, on September 14th 1590, at St. Margaret Pattens; and the marriage of Recherd Everest and Grace Knevet, on December 19th 1605, at St. Mary Somerset. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is a shield divided per fesse blue and black, on a silver fesse indented between three silver cinquefoils, three black storks' heads erased, the Crest being upon a broken battlement proper a black stork resting the dexter foot upon a gold cinquefoil. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger de Ebrois, which was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book of Norfolk, during the reign of King William 1, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. 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.