This unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may be either a topographical name for someone who lived in a particularly noteworthy or conspicuous cottage, from the Olde English pre 7th Century "bur", bower, cottage, inner room, with "mann", man, or a locational name from any of the various places called Bower(s) in Somerset and Essex, which appear variously as "Bur, Bure" and "Bura" in the Domesday Book of 1086. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided easily recognizable distinguishing names in the small communities of the Middle Ages. The surname from the first source may also be occupational for a house servant, or one employed in the private living quarters of his master. Early examples of the surname include: Gilbert Burman (Oxfordshire, 1273); Robert Boreman (Oxfordshire, 1279); and William Bowerman or Boarman (the Oxford University Register of 1506). On April 8th 1614, Anne, daughter of Christopher Boorman, was christened at St. James', Clerkenwell, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Bureman, which was dated 1204, in the "Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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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