This interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from the parish of Pembridge in Herefordshire. The placename was recorded as "Penebruge" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and as "Penebrigg" in the 1230 Pipe Rolls of the county, and derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "pen(n)", pen, enclosure, or the personal name "Paegna", with "brycg", bridge; hence, "bridge by the enclosures" or "Paegna's bridge". During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often took their former village name as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. Reginald de Penbrugg and William de Pennebrigge are noted in the 1273 Hundred Rolls of Gloucestershire. Recordings of the surname from English Church Registers include: the marriage of Richard Pembridge and Elizabeth Benson on February 3rd 1559, at St. Mary at Hill, London; the christening of Mary, daughter of Anthonye Pembridge, at Wellington, Herefordshire, on September 4th 1603; and the christening of Anthonius, son of Anthonii Pembridge, on July 18th 1613, at Maisemore, Gloucestershire. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is a silver shield, with a red bend engrailed, and a blue chief, the Crest being a black bull's head between two gold wings. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Penbrigge, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Gloucestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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