Recorded in several spelling forms including Bartram, Barthram, and Borthram, this is an English surname. It derives from the pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon and Germanic personal name Bertram, a compound of the elements "berht", meaning bright or famous, plus "hrabn", the raven. Introduced into Britain by the Norman-French after the 1066 Invasion, it is first recorded int he famous Domesday Book of 1086 in the Latinized form of Bertramus. The surname is somewhat later and early recordings include Henry Bertran in the Danelaw documents of the city of London in 1155, whilst Robert Bartram appears in the Hundred Rolls of the county of Norfolk dated 1273. Mariota Bartreme is recorded in Sussex in 1330, whist Nycolas Bartrum is recorded in the county of Suffolk in the Hearth Rolls tax of 1524. A Coat of Arms granted to Bartram family of Newcastle, Northumberland, in 1433 has the blazon of Or, an orle azure. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Bertram, which was dated 1087, in the Domesday Book for the county of Hampshire. This was during the reign of King William 1st, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087.Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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