Bogart

This long-established surname is of early medieval Dutch (Flemish) origin, and is either a topographical name from residence by an orchard, deriving from the Dutch "bogerd", orchard, or an occupational name for someone employed in one. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided easily recognizable distinguishing names in the small communities of the Middle Ages, and sometimes topographical names, for example, Bruck(bridge) and Bogart, became occupational to indicate a worker at, or keeper of, one such place. Early examples of the surname abound in Church Registers of The Netherlands, where the name appears under the variant forms: Bogaart, Bogaard, Bogaerts, Bogert and Van den Bogaert. In 1501, the birth of Frans, son of Vouter Boggaert and Emmegen Van Abcoude, was registered at Utrecht, Netherlands, and on May 2nd 1672, the marriage of Cornelis Willems Bogart to Nelltje Van Schie took place at Delft, Druid Holland. The name was introduced into England at an early date, presumably by Flemish weavers, and on September 13th 1539, Marragrietje Bogert and Peter Arnold Van der Poest were married in London. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is recorded heraldically in Rietstap's "Armorial General", and is a shield divided quarterly, with three green trees in the first and fourth quarters, and a lion rampant counterchanged in the second and third quarters divided per fess red and gold. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Willem Boggerts, which was dated 1428, in "Medieval Records of Dordrecht, Zuid Holland, during the reign of Philip the Good of Burgundy, 1419 - 1467. 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.