Berrey

This name is of English topographic or locational origin deriving from the Olde English pre 7th century 'byrig', the dative case of 'burh' meaning 'a fortified place'. The Medieval English 'beri', 'biri' and 'buri' denoted a fortified manor house and was given as a surname to one resident, or to one employed in such a manor house. The surname from this source is first recorded in the early 13th century (see below). The name may also derive from Bury in Huntingdonshire (recorded as Byrig in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles dated 974), Bury in Lancashire or Sussex or Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk (recorded as Sancte Eadmundes Byrig in 1038). The modern surname can be found as Berry, Berrey, Berrie, Bury and Burry. One Edward Burry married Sarah Rioll at St. Katherine's by the Tower, London on April 4th 1686.The Coat of Arms most associated with the family has the blazon of ermine, on a blue bend a bezant (gold coin) between two gold fleur-de-lis, which suggest victory over the French. The Crest being a tiger's head erased between two fleur-de-lis and the motto: Virtus sub cruce crescit, translating as "Virtue increases under the cross". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert de la Beri, which was dated 1202, in the Pipe Rolls of Cornwall, during the reign of King John, known as 'Lackland' 1199 - 1216. 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.