Bird (common), Byrde, Bride, Brid, Bridde, Le Byrd, Le Brid, Le Bridde[1]
Byrd is a
surname, a variant spelling of the English word "
bird,"[2] which is derived from the
Old English pre-7th-century word "bridde" (
Middle English "brid" or "bird").[3] Another common variant of this surname is "
Bird."[4]
Origin and variants
Byrd is a metonymic
occupational or descriptive name that was originally used for a person who worked as a bird catcher (name shortened from "birdclever"),[5] or someone who had bird-like characteristics (i.e., bright eyed or active, or perhaps one with a beautiful singing voice).[6] A part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in
Britain, the surname Byrd was first found in
Cheshire at
Broxton, a village and
civil parish in
North West England.[citation needed] The surname was first recorded in
Essex towards the end of the 12th Century as "Le Brid(d)."[7]
Until the gradual
standardization of English spelling in the last few centuries, English lacked any comprehensive system of spelling. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later
Anglo-Norman documents, meaning that a person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. As such, different variations of the Byrd surname usually have the same origin.[citation needed]
This page lists people with the
surnameByrd. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.
Bird (common), Byrde, Bride, Brid, Bridde, Le Byrd, Le Brid, Le Bridde[1]
Byrd is a
surname, a variant spelling of the English word "
bird,"[2] which is derived from the
Old English pre-7th-century word "bridde" (
Middle English "brid" or "bird").[3] Another common variant of this surname is "
Bird."[4]
Origin and variants
Byrd is a metonymic
occupational or descriptive name that was originally used for a person who worked as a bird catcher (name shortened from "birdclever"),[5] or someone who had bird-like characteristics (i.e., bright eyed or active, or perhaps one with a beautiful singing voice).[6] A part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in
Britain, the surname Byrd was first found in
Cheshire at
Broxton, a village and
civil parish in
North West England.[citation needed] The surname was first recorded in
Essex towards the end of the 12th Century as "Le Brid(d)."[7]
Until the gradual
standardization of English spelling in the last few centuries, English lacked any comprehensive system of spelling. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later
Anglo-Norman documents, meaning that a person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. As such, different variations of the Byrd surname usually have the same origin.[citation needed]
This page lists people with the
surnameByrd. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.