Bewsey

This interesting surname of Anglo Norman origins is recorded in the spellings of Bewes, Bews, Bewzie, Bewsie, Bewsy, and Bewsey. It is a locational name from the city Bayeux in Calvados, Normandy, which in turn originally obtained its name from being the seat of a Gaulish tribe recorded in Latin sources as the Badiocasses. The English suffix of "ie or ey" denotes "dweller at". The surname dates back to the early 13th Century, (see below) and early examples of recordings include one William Baiues in the charters known as "Liber Feodorum" for the county of Buckinghamshire in 1235, and Henry de Beause, sometimes known as de Beuse, in a slighlty later (1242) version of the same charters. Later examples of the surname recording taken from surviving church recordings of the diiocese of Greater London include:Jonas Bewzie who was christened on February 16th 1592 at St. Mary's, Whitechapel, Henry Bewsie, the son of James Bewsie, who was christened on May 1st 1636 at St. James, Clerkenwell, and Grace, daughter of John and Grace Bewsey, christened on January 10th 1702 at St. Alban's, Wood Street. Elias, the son of Elias and Elizabeth Bewsy, was christened on December 25th 1793 at St. Pancras, Old Church. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Baiocis, which was dated 1212, in the "Liber Feodorum" of Lincolnshire, during the reign of King John of England,1199 - 1216. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.