Recorded in the surviving registers of the city of London as Bourgoer, Bourgour and Bourgourd, this certainly appears to be a surname of French origins. However it does not seem to be recorded in any of these spellings in the Dictionnaire de noms Francais, suggesting that this surname is a variant of something else. The International Genealogical Index often offer althernatives or associated spellings, but not in this case. The most popular 'English' surnames with French origins are those associated with either the former state of Burgundy or the port of Boulogne, but again these do not fit. Further research suggests that although the name appears to be French and may even have come from France possibly with the 17th century Huguenots Protestant refugees, its true origin is German. This is from the German and Flemish word 'burger', a status name for a freeman of of a town, and in particular one who was a member of the local governing council. An example of a surviving early recording is that of Michael Bourgour who married Mary Brewer at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on March 1st 1692.

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