This interesting surname of English origin is a dialectal variant of the locational name Desborough in Buckinghamshire, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century "dwostle" meaning "pennyroyal", an aromatic plant formerly much used in herbal cures, plus "beorg", "hill", or Desborough in Northamptonshire which was originally named in Old English as Deoresburh deriving from the Old English personal name Deor(e) plus "burg, burh" meaning "fort". The surname dates back to the mid 16th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Catherine, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Desbouury, a French Huguenot, was christened on October 12th 1613, at Threadneedle Street, London. Alice Disbury married Hopkin Jones on June 2nd 1653, at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, and Marthe, daughter of Thomas and Anne Dewsburye, was christened on November 1st 1665, at Wotton, Underwood, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Desber, christened, which was dated 1563, Allhallows London Wall, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.