This uncommon and interesting surname has two distinct possible origins, both French. Firstly, the name may be occupational for a worker in wood from the Old French "bois", wood, or topographical for someone living in a wood from the Old French "bois", (Late Latin "bosci", shrub, undergrowth). Alternatively, the derivation may be from the Old French personal byname Bos, itself coming from the Germanic "bose", reckless, daring, with the addition of the diminutive suffix "et". On June 26th 1765, Andre Boisdet and Jeanne Chaillou were married in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France. Recordings of the surname from London church registers include the marriage of John Bosdet to Eliza Jane Parkinson in St. Bride Fleet Street on April 25th 1849, and the marriage of Thomas Bosdet and Emmiline Jones le Roy at St. Clement Danes, Westminster, on March 18th 1861. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Pierre Bosdet, (marriage to Susanne Amy), which was dated March 1703, Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands, during the reign of Queen Anne, "The last Stuart Monarch", 1702 - 1714. 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.

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