Bushen

Recorded as Busen, Bussen, Bussens and Bushen, this interesting and unusual surname is of French origins. Introduced into Britain at the end of the 16th Century by French Huguenots fleeing religious persecutions under Louis X1V, it is a diminutive form of the old French personal name "Beuze", itself coming from the Germanic Boso, from "bose", reckless or daring. The surname was first recorded in Germany, (see below), from whence it spread to France and subsequently took the forms Buseinne, Busen, Buessen, and Buesen. Examples of the surname recording taken from surviving church registers in England include William Bussen and Anne Portryffe who were married at Cranbrook, Kent, on Febbruary 9th 1595, whilst on June 15th 1623, Esther, the daughter of Estienne Buseinne, was christened at the Walloons or Strangers Church, Canterbury. The only "plural" form of the name is Bussens, and the earliest recordings are German. On June 11th 1680, Marie, daughter of Barthelomess (as spelt) Bussens and Maria Pehlens, was christened in Nahausen, Brandenburg, and on August 29th 1728 Joannes Bussesn married Sibilla Lichtenbergs in Issum, Rhineland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anna Bussen, (christening), which was dated November 1st 1581, Konigsberg in Neumark, Brandenburg, during the reign of Emperor Rudolf 11, known as "Habsburg Emperor", 1576 - 1612. 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.