This interesting surname with variant spellings Beaufoy, Boffce, Boffey, Boffy, Buffey, Buffcry, etc., is a locational name from Beaufour in Calvados, composed of the first element being of uncertain origin. The surname dates back to the late 11th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one William de Belfou (1086), Wiltshire "The Domesday Book", Thomas de Beaufow (1185), "Rotuli de Dominabus Rutland", and Thomas Buffy (1276), "The Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire". Church recordings include one Margrett Boffery who married John Greatehart on February 3rd 1577, at St. Leonards, Shoreditch, London, Elizabeth Buffery married William Smyth on January 27th 1582, at St. Gregory by St. Paul, London, and George Buffry married Elizabeth Gosnell on June 9th 1583, at St. James, Clerkenwell. William, son of John and Margery Buffery, was christened at St. Mary Whitechapel, Stepney, on April 25th 1624. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph de Bellafago, which was dated 1086, The Domesday Book, during the reign of King William the Conqueror 1066 - 1087. 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.