Recorded in several forms including Burree, Burey, Burrey, Burry, as well as the more popular Bury and Berry, this name is English. It is or rather was, of locational origin deriving from the pre 7th century word 'burh', meaning a fortified place. In Medieval times in different parts of the country, the spelling became beri, biri or buri. The surname as it was given, was either to a person who lived or worked at a castle, town or village so named. Locationally there are many places in England from which name holders could originate. These include Bury in Huntingdonshire, (recorded as Byrig in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles dated 974 a.d), Bury in the counties of Lancashire or Sussex, or Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk. This was recorded as Sancte Eadmundes Byrig in 1038, and even villages such as Berry Brow in the West Riding of Yorkshire have also produced name holders. The coat of arms most associated with the name has the blazon of ermine, on a blue bend, a bezant between two fleur-de-lis, all gold.. The motto: Virtus sub cruce crescit, translating as "Virtue increases under the cross". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert de la Beri. This was dated 1202, in the Pipe Rolls of Cornwall, during the reign of King John of Enland, 1199 - 1216. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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