Recorded as Musard, Mussard, and Mussared, this ancient and interesting surname is English but of Old French origins. Introduced into the British Isles at the famous Conquest of 1066, it derives from the word h "musard", meaning absent-minded, and is an example of that sizeable group of early European surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. These nicknames were given for a variety of characteristics, including supposed resemblance to an animal or bird, or to habits of dress and occupation. The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 11th Century (see below) and Alfricus Musard is noted in records of the abbey of St. Benet Holme, in Norfolk in 1134. Recordings of the surname from church registers include that of Margaret Musared, who married Edmund Cobb on July 6th 1584 at Lyminge; and John and Margaret Mussard, christening witnesses on August 17th 1658 at St. Dunstan's, Canterbury. A coat of arms granted to the family has the blazon of a red shield charged with three silver plates. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hascoit Musard. This was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book for Berkshire, during the reign of King William 1st, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the 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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