This extraordinary surname appears in a number of variations, all rare, and all quite late in their recordings. The origination is the early medieval English 'Burg - ope', and is locational for one who lived by the 'The Gate House' or the city walls. The modern spellings are a series of dialectual traspositions which include Berope (1835) and the earlier Beartrop, first recorded in 1751, when Sarah Beartrop married George Gregory at St. Lukes, Finsbury on July 23rd. Elizabeth Barrop married Henry Greville at St. Olaves Church, London on June 30th 1807, whilst later in 1843, Sarah Beartup, yet another spelling, married William Wade on the 15th of March at St. Pancras Old Church, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Burrope, which was dated 1580, christened at St. Margarets Church, Westminster, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, 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.