This interesting surname with variant spellings Turbard, Turbet, Turbett, Turbott, Torbett, Torbitt, Tarbard, Tarbent, Tarbath, Tarbat, etc., derives from the personal name Torbert, composed of the elements "Thor", the name of the God of thunder in Scandinavian mythology", plus the old German "berht" meaning "bright, famous". The name was probably formed on the Continent and is identical with the Norman Turbert found in Tubertivilla. The personal name is recorded as Turbert, Torbertus in the Domesday Book of 1086. The surname dates back to the early 13th Century (see below). Further recordings include one John Turbut (1221), "the Curia Regis Rolls of Hertfordshire", and John Turberd (1274), "the Hundred Rolls of Essex". Church recordings include Elizabeth, daughter of Elizabeth and Matthew Tarbert, who was christened on June 5th 1659 at St. Ann Blackfriars, London, Mary, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Tarbart who was christened on June 1st 1760 at St. Botolph without Aldgate, London and Robert Tarbard who married Susannah Brook on January 25th 1864 at St. Leonards, Shoreditch, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alanus Torberti, which was dated 1212, "the Curia Regis Rolls of Berkshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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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