This uncommon and interesting surname is of French locational origin, but was initially associated with the county of Yorkshire in England. It is an anglicized form of the name of the famous city of Bordeaux in Northern France. Recorded in many forms including Bourdas, Bourdice, Bourdis, Burdass, Burdess, Burdis, Burdas, Burdus and Birdis, the surname is first recorded in England in the late 13th Century (see below). It was introduced as a result of the extension of English domination of France under the Plantagenets kings. This lead to a major increase in the wine-trade with Bordeaux. Indeed in the first instances the surname in England may have been a nickname for a wine importer, such was the popularity of Bordeaux wines. Early examples of the recordings of the surname taken from the ancient rolls and charters of the medieval period include: Christopher Burdus, in the register of the guild known as Corpus Christi, for the city of York in the year 1519; John Burdas, recorded in the register of the Freemen of the City of York in 1662; and Mary, the daughter of Robert and Catherine Burdus, christened at the church of St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, on October 10th 1697. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Alan de Burdeus, which was dated 1297. This was in the "Subsidy Rolls" of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Edward 1st of England. He wa known as "The Hammer of the Scots", and reigned1272 - 1307. Throughout the centuries surnames in every country have continued to "develop," often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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