This interesting surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational name from any of the various places so called, of which there are several in Yorkshire, and Derbyshire, as well as elsewhere, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "burh" meaning "fortress". In most cases these are the sites of Roman fortifications. The name is widely distributed, but mainly found in Staffordshire, where the pronunciation is usually "braf". The surname dates back to the early 13th Century (see below). Further recordings include one William de Brugh (1275) in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk. Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Broghe, Broughe, Brouf, Bruff, and Broffe. Robert Brough was christened on November 14th 1559, at St. Vedast Foster Lane and St. Michael le Querne, London and Phillipp Broughe, son of Robert was christened on September 9th 1565, at St. Martin Ludgate, Staffordshire. One G. Brough, a famine emigrant, sailed from Liverpool aboard the "Adam-Lodge" bound for New York on June 2nd 1847. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Daniel de Buag, which was dated 1219, witness in the "Assize Rolls of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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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