  Broxton
The location of Broxton in Cheshire
| |
| Pronunciation | bɝd |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Old English |
| Meaning | "Bird" |
| Region of origin |  England Cheshire |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Bird (common), Byrde, Bride, Brid, Bridde, Le Byrd, Le Brid, Le Bridde[1] |
Byrd is a surname, a variant spelling of the English word "bird,"[2] which is derived from the Old English pre-7th-century word "bridde" (Middle English "brid" or "bird").[3] Another common variant of this surname is "Bird."[4]
Byrd is a metonymic occupational or descriptive name that was originally used for a person who worked as a bird catcher (name shortened from "birdclever"),[5] or someone who had bird-like characteristics (i.e., bright eyed or active, or perhaps one with a beautiful singing voice).[6] A part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain, the surname Byrd was first found in CheshireatBroxton, a village and civil parishinNorth West England.[citation needed] The surname was first recorded in Essex towards the end of the 12th Century as "Le Brid(d)."[7]
Until the gradual standardization of English spelling in the last few centuries, English lacked any comprehensive system of spelling. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents, meaning that a person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. As such, different variations of the Byrd surname usually have the same origin.[citation needed]
The dictionary definition of byrde at Wiktionary
