Brumfitt

This is a surname which is an example of English dialectal improvisation at work. The derivation is Olde English pre 10th century, but over the centuries this has been almost lost. The base form was "brum-feld" as found in the modern villages of Broomfield or Bromfield, in Kent & Sussex. These are compound locational forms which translate as "The broom covered areas by the open land," with feld meaning Veldt not the later field. The transposition between "Brumfeld" (see below) and the 19th century "Brumfitt" followed an erratic course. The essential elements are that the original name 'split' into two new styles, the first being Brumfeld to Brumfelt to Bromfield and Broomfield, the second from Brumfeld to Brumphet to Brumfilt and Brumfitt.The name as Brumfitt is specifically Lancastrian, although all the original "Brumfeld" recordings are from the South and South East. The recording examples include William Brumphet who married Elena Hargreaves at Colne, Lancashire, on May 2nd 1623, Jane Broomfoot, (parents unknown) who married Bartholomew Minch at St Peters Church, Bolton Le Moors, on August 31st 1801, and John Brumfitt, whose daughter Elizabeth was christened at Bethesda Chapel, Dunce Street, Liverpool, on October 4th 1829. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hamo de Bromfeld, which was dated 1275, in the Hundred Rolls of Kent, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The hammer of the Scots" 1272 - 1307. 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.