Puzey

Derived from the village of Pusey in Berkshire, itself a name originally introduced by the Norman Invaders at 1066 as 'Pesei' - believed to be a former spot in Normandy, there are no less than seven modern spellings, Pizey, Pizzey, Pizzie, Peasey, Pusey, Puzey and Pezey. The name development has included, Joan de Pusye (1277 The Somerset Assize Court), John de Peseie (1300 The Oxford Pipe Rolls), John de Puseye (1384 also Oxford Pipe Rolls). Quite why such a relatively simple name should have developed so many spellings is not obvious, but it may be that at some point in history, the village was 'cleared' and the inhabitants scattered, as happened on many occasions. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam de Pesey which was dated 1220 The Fines Court of Berkshire during the reign of King Henry 111 the Frenchman 1216-1272 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.