Wybrow

This unusual and interesting name is a dialectal variant of Whybrow, itself from the Middle English female given name "Wyburgh", spelt, in the Old English pre 7th Century "Wigburh", composed of the elements "wig", war and "burh", fortress. This name was recorded once in 901 and afterwards not until the 12th Century. In view of the variety and frequency of the surnames it must have been more common than the records suggest. In the modern idiom the variants include, Wyber, Wyberg(h), W(h)ybrow, Wh(e)ybrew, Wiber(g). Early recordings of the surname from the London church registers include; Maria Wybrow, who was christened on December 16th 1608, at St. Gregory by St. Paul; on December 26th 1736, Anne, daughter of Stephen and Anne Wybrow was christened at Spitalfields Christ Church; and Charles, son of Frederic and Mary Wybrow, was christened on March 13th 1763, at St. Luke's, Chelsea. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Wybir, which was dated 1279, Hundred Rolls, Oxfordshire, during the reign of King Edward 1, "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.