This name, with variant spellings Bache and Batch, is of Anglo-Saxon topographical origin for a dweller by a stream. The derivation is from the old English pre 7th Century "baece", (Middle High German "bach"), a stream. One, Robert de Basche, witness, entered in the 1199 "Assize Court Rolls of Stafforshire" is believed to be the earliest recorded bearer of the name in England. (Note change of "sch" for "ch"). Other early recordings include Ralph de la Bache, "The Rydeward Chartulary of Staffordshire", (1252), and William atte Bache the 1327 "Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire". Later examples of the surname may derive from German dialectal word "beck", reflected in the Yiddish "bek" meaning "baker", and originally given as an occupational name to a baker. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) German composer; musical director for Prince Leopold of Kothen (1717 - 1728), and musical director for the city of Leipzig (1728 - 1750), is the most famous bearer of the name. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Reiner de Bache, which was dated 1212, "The Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire", 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.