Bramwich

This interesting surname is English. It is locational from the various places called Bromwich, including: Bromwich West in Staffordshire, recorded as "Bromwic" in the Domesday Book of 1086; Castle Bromwich in Warwickshire; and Little Bromwich, also in Warwickshire. They all derive from the pre 7th century word "brom", meaning gorse, and "wic", a dairy farm; hence, "dairy farm where broom grew". During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often used their former village or hamlet name as a means of identification, resulting in a wide distribution of the name in the surrounding areas. The surname is first recorded in the early 13th Century (see below). Early recordings include William de Bromwic is noted in the Assize Court Rolls of Staffordshire (1225). In the modern idiom the surname can be found as Bramich, Bramwich, Bromage, Bromwich, Bromige, Bromidge, Brommage and possibly others. Examples of later recordings include that on November 23rd 1558, of Phillipa Bromage who married Thomas Duffyld at Clifford Chambers, Warwickshire, and William Bromwich married Marie Rosier at St. Olave's, Hart Street, London, on April 27th 1630. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam de Bromwiz. This was dated 1221, in the "Assize Court Rolls of Warwickshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.