Blaymires

This name, with variant spellings Blaymire, Blamer, Blamire, Blamor(e) etc., is of English topographical origin from residence by a dark swamp or marsh. The derivation is from the old Norse "bla(r)" meaning "dark", plus "myrr", a marsh or swampy place. Blamires in the West Riding of Yorkshire is named with these elements, and in some instances the name may be locational from this place. The surname first appears on record in the mid 13th Century, (see below). Recordings from English church registers show the christening of Edward, son of John Blamer, in St. Martin Ludgate, London on April 8th 1565; the marriage of Alice Blaymire to Edward Pighells in Bradford, Yorkshire, on May 24th 1601; the christening of Mary Blamire, an infant, in Howden, Yorkshire on November 9th 1628, and the christening of Thomas Blamor in St. Mary, Aldermary, London on May 15th 1666. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Blamyre, which was dated 1250, "Calendar of Documents", Cumberland, during the reign of King Henry 111, "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.