Birch

Birch
Recorded in many forms including Birch, Burch, Birk, and Burk (English & Irish), Birken, Birckmann, Birchner (German), Berckman and Van den Berch (Dutch and Flemish), Bjork, Bjorkan, Bjerkan and Bjorkman (Scandanavian & Swedish), this interesting surname is either topographical, occupational or locational. In England where most recordings are to be found, it may originate from a place called Birch in the county of Essex, the derivation being from the Olde English pre 7th century word "bryce" meaning breaking; and hence land made suitable for agriculture, or it may be from the villages of Birch Much and Birch Little in Herefordshire. These have a different derivation from the Olde English word "birce", meaning birch trees. Secondly, the name may be a topographical someone who lived by a birch tree or a birch wood, and thirdly occupational, either for a plowman or farmer, or a forester. Early recording examples include: Richard de Birches in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1246; whilst in Germany we have the recording of Helmut Birkener of Engeltal in 1316. Recordings in other countries were much later, and in Scandanavia rarely before the 18th century. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere in the world is believed to be that of Walter de la Birche. This was dated 1182, in the charters of King Henry 11nd, 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Birch — ist der Name folgender Personen: Adam Birch (* 1979), US amerikanischer Profiwrestler Adolf Birch Hirschfeld (1849–1917), Romanist Albert Francis Birch (1903–1992), US amerikanischer Geophysiker Andreas Christian Birch (1795–1868), dänischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Birch — (b[ e]rch), n.; pl. {Birches} ( [e^]z). [OE. birche, birk, AS. birce, beorc; akin to Icel. bj[ o]rk, Sw. bj[ o]rk, Dan. birk, D. berk, OHG. piricha, MHG. birche, birke, G. birke, Russ. bereza, Pol. brzoza, Serv. breza, Skr. bh[=u]rja. [root]254.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • birch — [bʉrch] n. [ME birche < OE beorc < IE base * bhereĝ , to gleam, white > BRIGHT] 1. any of a genus (Betula) of trees and shrubs of the birch family, having smooth bark easily peeled off in thin sheets, and hard, closegrained wood: found… …   English World dictionary

  • birch — birch; birch·en; birch·er; birch·ite; …   English syllables

  • birch — ► NOUN 1) a slender hardy tree having a peeling, typically silver grey or white, bark and yielding a hard fine grained wood. 2) (the birch) chiefly historical a punishment in which a person is flogged with a bundle of birch twigs. ► VERB chiefly… …   English terms dictionary

  • Birch — Birch, a. Of or pertaining to the birch; birchen. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Birch — Birch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Birched} (b[ e]rcht); p. pr. & vb. n. {Birching}.] To whip with a birch rod or twig; to flog. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Birch — Birch, 1) (spr. börtsch) Samuel, engl. Sprachforscher und Archäolog, geb. 3. Nov. 1813 in London, gest. daselbst 27. Dez. 1885, besuchte die Schulen zu Greenwich und Blackheath, dann die Merchant Taylors School in London, wurde 1836 Assistent,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • birch — (n.) O.E. berc, beorc (also the name of the rune for b ), from P.Gmc. *berkjon (Cf. O.S. birka, O.N. börk, Dan. birk, Swed. björk, M.Du. berke, Du. berk, O.H.G. birihha, Ger. Birke), from PIE *bhergo (Cf. Ossetian …   Etymology dictionary

  • birch|en — «BUR chuhn», adjective. 1. of a birch tree. 2. made of birchwood. 3. having to do with the birch used in punishing …   Useful english dictionary

  • birch — [ bɜrtʃ ] noun 1. ) count a tall tree with thin branches and an outer layer that comes off in thin strips like paper a ) uncount the wood from this tree 2. ) the birch BRITISH an old fashioned form of CORPORAL PUNISHMENT in which someone is hit… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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