Brunker

This interesting surname with variant spellings Brunger and Brouncker originated from the male given name "Brungar", a compound of the Old English pre 7th Century "brun" meaning brown and "gar" a spear. The name (without surname) is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, for Dorset as Brungar(us) and the surname is'nt recorded until the latter half of the 13th Century. One Robert Brungor is registered in the Early London Personal Name Book (1311), and a William Brunker in the "placenames of Wiltshire" (1572). On December 15th 1590, Kathryn Brunker was christened in St. John's, Hackney, London, and on February 10th Eliza Brunker was christened there. On August 17th 1662, William Brunker, son of William and Priscila Brunker was christened in St. Paul's, Convent Garden, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Brunger, which was dated 1275, The Hundred Rolls of Norfolk, during the reign of King Edward 1, "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.