This interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname, a dialectal variant of the placename Maesbury, in Shropshire. The placename is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Meresberie", and means "the fortified place on the boundary", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "maere", boundary, and "burg", a fort, often an ancient British pre-Roman construction, but later used also of fortified manors. Locational surnames were given to the lord of the manor, and to those former inhabitants who left to live or work in another area, and in this way the spelling of the name often changed with varying regional pronunciations. The surname development includes: Maybery (1588 Shropshire); Maybowrie (1600, London); Maburie (1639, ibid.); and Meaberry (1683, ibid.). One John Maybury married Elizabeth Bird on August 19th 1621, at Stottesden in Shropshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ann Mabre (christening), which was dated 27th June 1585, christened at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024