Buglass

This remarkable name is of Scottish origin and derives from the Lands of Booklawes, near Melrose, in Roxburgh. It is not clear when the current spelling appeared which was clearly as a result of dialectual transposition, but the development appears to have been Buccles (1539) Buikles (1603), Bugloss (1680), with Buglass not appearing until the 19th century, one James Buglass dying in Edinburgh in 1940, and Jessie Buglass the same year. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Bewclase which was dated C1423, Charter Witness during the reign of James I of Scotland, 1406 - 1437 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.