Double-barrelled surnames, usually created following a marriage between two families, have no overall meaning as a unit, but the separate parts have their own history and derivation. In this instance, the name Sainsbury is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and a locational name from Saintbury near Broadway in Gloucestershire. Recorded as "Svineberie" in the Domesday Book of 1086; as "Seinesberia" in the 1186 Feet of Fines for Gloucestershire; and as "Seineburia" in the 1220 Book of Fees: the place was so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Saewine", a compound of the elements "sae", sea, and "wine", friend, with "burg, burh", fort; hence, "Saewine's fort (or fortified manor)". Locational surnames, such as this, were originally given to local landowners, and the lord of the manor. In 1190, one Reginald de Seineberia was noted in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, and on October 27th 1592, William Sainsbury and Agnes Janson were married at Bratton in Wiltshire. The distinguished name of Brown, with numerous Coats of Arms and several notable entries in the "National Biography", originated as a nickname referring to the colour of hair, complexion or clothing, from the Olde English "brun", cognate with the Old French and Old High German "burn", brown. Occasionally, however, it may derive from the Olde English personal name "Brun". One Peter Brown appears on a list of passengers who sailed to New England aboard the "Mayflower" in 1620. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Brun, which was dated 1111, in "Early London Personal Names", during the reign of King Henry 1, known as "The Lion of Justice", 1100 - 1135. 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