Roxburgh

This ancient Scottish surname is locational in origin, from the place called "Roxburgh" near Kelso in what is now the "Borders" county of Scotland, formerly Roxburghshire. The placename is composed of Northern Olde English (pre 7th Century) elements, due to its proximity to the English county of Northumberland, and means "Hroc's fort", or "manor", derived from the Olde English byname or nickname "Hroc", from "hroc", rook, given to a person with very dark hair, with "burh, burg", fort, manor. The surname is recorded early on in Scotland; one Walter of Rokeburg witnessed charters by Richard, bishop of St. Andrew's, between 1163 - 1185, and Hugh de Roxburgh was Chancellor of the Kingdom and bishop elect of Glasgow; he died in 1199. The modern surname can be found as Roxburgh, Roxbrough, and Roxburch. A Coat of Arms granted to the Roxburgh family of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, depicts on a silver shield, a silver horse's head couped on a blue pale, in base two blue saltires, couped. The Crest is a silver horse's head, and the Motto, "Tam andax quam fidelis", translates as "As much in daring as in faith". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam de Rogesburg, which was dated circa 1150, charter witness in the "Records of the Monastery of Cambuskenneth", during the reign of King David 1 of Scotland, 1124 - 1153. 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.