This rare and picturesque surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a dialectal variant of the locational name Backbarrow, from a place so called in Lancashire, which is first recorded in the 'Placenames of Lancashire' as 'Bakbafowe' in 1537. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th Century 'baec', back, and 'beorg', a hill or mound, thus a likely overall meaning being, 'hill with a backlike top'. During the Middle Ages it became more usual for people to migrate further afield, often to seek work, and the practice evolved of using the placename as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. Recorded in the neighbouring county of Yorkshire is the marriage of Thomas Buckberry and Elizabeth Elly on April 24th 1739 at Harewood. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joanne Buckberry (christening), which was dated August 30th 1609, St. Mary's, Whitechapel, Stepney, London, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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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