This apparently English name is in fact German and derives from the personal compound name 'Heim-Bracht', which translates as 'Home-Bright'. There are in fact at least four 'anglicized' spellings which include Hambright, Hambribe, Hambric and Hambrick plus the earliest recorded Hambridge which was until recently believed to derived from a 'lost' medieval village. The name is recorded heraldically as Heimbracht of Hesse a former state within the German part of the Holy Roman Empire which controlled part of Europe between Charlemagne in 814 and Francis 11 in 1806 The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anthony Hambridge which was dated 1583 married in London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as 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.