Naseby

The 1086 Domesday Book records the village now known as "Naseby" in Northamptonshire as "Navesberie". Later in 1094 in the Friary rolls it is recorded as "Navzeberia", whilst by 1167 it had become "Navesbi". Not surprisingly the later surname had several forms of which Naisby and Naseby are the most popular. The name means "The fortress of Hnaef", a pre - medieval figure of heroic saga, associated with Beowulf, Wildsmith and Hereward. Rather later on Jne 14th 1645, "Naseby" became synonymous with the final defeat of King Charles 1 (1625 - 1649). Like many villages "Naseby" was largely "cleared" in the 16th century, the inhabitants being driven off their common lands, hence the spread of the surname, and the variations in the spelling, particulary in the London area. These early recordings include the following examples of the genre, Anna Naseby who married Willmus Browne at Watford on August 2nd 1587. Ruth Naisby, christened at St. Gileschurch, Cripplegate, London on September 25th 1684, and Edward Naseby, who married Ann Gardiner at Chesterton, Oxford, on July 1st, 1699. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Johannis Nasebye which was dated January 30th 1576, a christening witness at Watford. during the reign of Queen Elizebeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess" 1558 - 1605. 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.