Recorded in several spellings, this is an English surname, but of French medieval origins. Recorded in the surviving registers of the British Isles as Burgoin, Burgoyne, Burgan, Burgen, Burgin, Burgwin, Burgyn, and others, it is locational. First introduced into England in 1066 by followers of Duke William of Normandy, later to be known to history as "William the Conqueror", it derives from the ancient word "Bourgogne", often anglicized as Burgundy, and it describes a person from that region of France. The derivation is from a German Gaulish tribe called the Burgundii, who invaded the region in circa 480 a.d. The surname is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of England in 1086, when Walter Burgoin was granted lands in the county of Devonshire. In Scotland the earliest recorded namebearer was Robert Burgonensis, who according to the ancient rolls known as the "Cartarum prioratus Sancti Andrew", was in 1128, accused of rapacity by the monks of St. Serf's island, Loch Leven! Less contentiously Adam de Burgoine appears in the Subsidy Tax register of the city of London in 1319, Edward Burgin was christened at All Hallows church, London Wall, on January 8th 1665, and Thomas Burgwin at St Mary Mounthaw, in the city of London, on March 11th 1781. General John Burgoyne, who was both an author and soldier, capitulated to George Washington at the battle of Saratoga in 1777. This action was to lead to the final American victory and independance. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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