This is a habitational or locational form of the original German "Esberg", and is recorded in the spellings of Esberger or Essberger. The name describes one who was resident either at a place known as "the flat topped (es) hill (berg)", or possibly a derivation from "esche" meaning "ash", hence, "ash hill". There are several hamlets so named in Germany. Surname recordings in Germany are generally much later than in Britain and did not become "national" until after unification in 1866. They were also subject to disruption by war. In this case, the name recordings include Elizabetha Esberg, who was christened on December 26th 1701, at Dierdorf Evangelist Church, Rheinland, and Johann Casper Essberger, who married Maria Dorothea Ley, at Mittelfranken, Bayern, on May 25th 1728, both in Germany. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simonis Esberger, which was dated December 6th 1738, a witness at Bacharach Catholic Church, Rheinland, during the reign of Emperor Charles V11 of the Holy Roman (German) Empire, 1711 - 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.1740.