Beverstock

This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place in Wiltshire near Wilton called Baverstock. The place is first recorded in the Wilton Register of 968 as "Babanstock", and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Babestoche", and derives its name from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Babba", of uncertain etymology, with "stoc", farm, dependent, settlement or outlying hamlet hence "Babba's farm". The placename Bavington in Northumberland also has the Olde English "Babba" as its first element. Locational surnames were developed when the former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. Regional and dialectal differences subsequently often gave rise to noticeable variations in the spelling of the name. In this instance, the locational name Baverstock can also be found as Beverstock, Beaverstock, and Baverstack. London Church Registers record the christening of Joseph Beverstock at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, on the 28th February 1684. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is blue, a gold fret, on a gold chief three fusils vair. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joane Baverstocke, which was dated 25th November 1563, marriage to John Hardman, Abbots Ann, Hampshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558-1603. 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.