Bownde

This interesting surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, with variant spellings Bound, Bownd, Bownde and Bounde, was at first a status surname for a peasant farmer or husbandman. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "bonda, bunda", reinforced by the Old Norse "bonde, bondi", in Middle English, "bonde". The ultimate derivation is disputed; it may be connected with the Olde English "buan", to dwell; hence, "buende", a dweller, but is thought more likely to be from "bindan", to bind. It was originally used to signify a farmer holding lands from and bound by loyalty to a lord, and hence a free landowner. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the name became associated with the idea of bound servitude. The surname dates back to the late 12th Century (see below), and recordings from English Church Registers include: the marriage of Elsabeth Bownde and John Goodeyere on August 5th 1549, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, London, and the marriage of John Bound and Jane Jenison on October 30th 1858, at St. John the Baptist, Chester, Cheshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Norman le Bonde, which was dated 1180, in the "Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.