Belmont

This distinguished surname is of Norman origin, introduced into England during the Conquest of 1066. It is a French locational name from any of the five places in Normandy so called, deriving from the Old French "beu", fair, lovely, with "mont", a hill. There are also places in Cumberland, Lancashire and Essex which, under Norman influence, came to be called Beaumont; these may also have given rise to the surname. In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings including Beaument, Beumant, Beaman, Bemand etc.. The place in Essex made a notable change in its name from "Fulepet" (foul pit) to Beaumont (beautiful hill). Locational names were originally given as a means of identification to those who left their village or place of origin to settle elsewhere. Robert de Beaumont (died 1118) was one of those who fought alongside William the Conqueror in the Norman invasion of England in 1066, and William rewarded him with large grants of land in Warwickshire. He took his name from an estate owned by his grandfather at Beaumont-le-Roger in Normandy. Most English bearers of the name descended from Henry de Beaumont (died 1340), who came to England from France as a soldier, serving three successive kings of England, Edward 1, 11, and 111. There are no less than twenty-three Coats of Arms granted to this illustrious family. One of them is blue, semee of fleurs-de-lis, and a gold lion rampant, the Crest being on a blue chapeaux charged with three gold fleurs-de-lis, turned up ermine a gold lion passant. The Motto "Erectus non elatus" translates as "Exalted, but not elated". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Rogerius de Belmont, which was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book of Dorset, during the reign of King William 1, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. 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.