This unusual name is of English topographical origin and is actually a variant of the name "Bridge". It can also be a metonymic occupational surname for a bridge keeper. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "brycg", bridge, Middle English "brigge" and the form "burge", with the "r" and the "u" transposed is a common dialectual phenomenon in Southern England, particularly if the surname is topographical in origin, it denoted residence near a bridge and if occupational and meaning "the bridge keeper" it reflects the importance of the post, building obligation. One "Mary Burdge" was christened at St. Olave's Southwark, London on the 5th November 1663. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de la Burge. which was dated 1200, The Hampshire Pipe Rolls. during the reign of King John "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.