This interesting and most unusual surname is of Old French origin, and is a patronymic surname, from "Guyer", an occupational name for a guide, from the Old French "guyour, guieor", a guide; with the patronymic ending "-s", son of. The name may however have the same meaning from the Old French "gui", a guide, plus the agent suffix "-er", and patronymic ending "-s". Job descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. The surname itself was first recorded in England in the late 13th Century (see below) in Dorset, while one Thomas Gaiour is recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Essex in 1327. Early examples of the surname include Edward Gyer, who married Elizabeth Symons on October 19th 1620, at Canterbury in Kent; the christening of William Guiers on November 4th 1667, at St. Andrew's, Holborn, London; and the marriage of Elizabeth Aldridge Guyers and John Parsons on March 4th 1821, at Christ Church, Greyfriars, Newgate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry le Gyur, which was dated 1272, in the "Calendar of the Charter Rolls", Dorset, 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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