This interesting name, with variant spellings Buse and Busse, derives from the Old French "busse", a cask, and was originally given either as a metonymic occupational name to a maker of casks or barrels, or as a descriptive nickname to a rotund man. The surname first appears on record in the latter part of the 11th Century, (see below). Other early recordings include: Walter Buss - the 1195, "Pipe Rolls of Norfolk", Matilda Bus - the 1273 "Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire" and Adam Busse - the 1379 "Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire". On November 15th 1590, Richard Buse and Margaret Bill were married in St. Bride Fleet Street, London, and on April 23rd 1600, William Busse married a Mary Riches in St. Dunstans, Stepney. An interesting namebearer was Robert William Buss (1804-1875), painter of theatrical portraits, and of historical subjects the exhitited at the Royal Academy 1826-1859. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Siward Buss, which was dated 1086, "The domesday Book for Kent", during the reign of King William 1, known as "William the Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. 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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