This interesting name is one of the many variant spelling of the Olde English and Anglo-Saxon personal compound name 'cud - Leorht' which translates as 'Famous -Bright' and is more commonly found in the modern spelling of 'Cuthbert'. The development of alternative spellings is usually the result of localised medieval dialects which in turn lead to variable spelling, although sometimes these variants can be as recent as the 20th Century, suggesting a deliberate change. In this case the name developments include Raymond Cuttbeards, January 6th 1596 (London), Ann Culbart who married Thomas Swatting at Southwark in February 1801, and Ann Colbert who married William Thompson at St. Annes, Soho, Westminster in 1805. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Cutbright, which was dated 1260, William at the Cheshire Assize Courts, during the reign of King Henry III, The Father of the Navy, 1327 - 1377. 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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