Gundrey

This unusual and interesting name is of Norman origin, and is found chiefly in Lancashire and other northern counties of England in the forms "Grundy", "Gundrey", "Gundry" and "Goundry". The Old French personal name introduced by the Normans as "Gondri" and "Gundric" is the source for the surname, and is composed of the Germanic elements "gund" meaning "battle", and "ric", meaning "power". Pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse baptismal names were usually distinctive compounds whose elements were often associated with the Gods of Fire, Water and War. The first recording of the personal name is in its Latinized form "Gundricus" (Hertfordshire, c.1100). The surname emerges in the late 13th century (see below). One, James Grundy, of Rumworth, Lancashire, was noted in Wills Records held in Cheshire (1579), and a John Grundy of Astley was recorded in the parish of Leigh (1587). A Coat of Arms granted to the Grundy family is a silver shield with five golden martlets on a cross engrailed, between four red lions passant guardant, the Crest being a black demi leopard rampant guardant bezantee, and the motto, "in Deo Solo Salus", translates as, "The only Salvation is in God". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Grundy, which was dated 1296, in "Records of Roxburghshire", Scotland, during the reign of John Ballial of Scotland, 1292 - 1296. 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.