This interesting surname is of Old Norse origin, and is a locational name from any of the six places in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire called Osgodby. Recorded variously as "Osgote(s)bi", "Osgotbi" and "Ansgotebi" in the Domesday Book of 1086 for the above counties, all places share the same meaning and derivation, that is from the Old Norse male given name "Asgautr, Asgot", a compound of the elements "as", god, with the tribal name "Gath" (apparently the same as the Olde English "Geatas", the Scandinavian people to which Beowulf belonged), and the Old Norse "byr", enclosure, settlement. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. Regional and dialectal differences subsequently produced variations in the spelling of the name, which in the modern idiom appears as Osgorby, Osgordby, Osgarby and Osgerby. An interesting early bearer of the name was Adam de Osgodby (deceased 1316), keeper of the Great Seal under Edward 1 and Edward 11. On March 21st 1569, Izabell Osgerbe, an infant, was christened at Barnoldby le Beck, Lincolnshire, and on July 8th 1582, Sybbell Osgerby and Henry Raper were married at Pickhill with Roxby, Yorkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugh de Osgoteby, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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