This interesting surname of German and Ashkenazic origin is a diminutive of the metonymic occupational name Band, originally given to someone who made the wooden hoops with which wooden barrels were fastened together, deriving from the Germanic "band" meaning "hoop", "band". The surname dates back to the early 17th Century, (see below). Church recordings include one Hyott, son of John and Jane Bandey, who was christened on October 22nd 1646, at St. Dunstan's Stepney. Elizabeth, daughter of William and Margery Bandy, was christened on october 5th 1655, at St. Bride's, Fleet Street, London, and Mary, daughter of William and Mary Bandy, was christened on February 17th 1679, at St. Dunstan's Stepney. Mary Bandy was christened on January 16th 1708, at St. Thomas the Apostle, London. Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Bandey, Banduy, Bandy, etc.. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Bandy married Hy Bayley, which was dated 1637, Northolt, during the reign of King Charles 1, "The Martyr", 1625 - 1649. 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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