This rare name which is nevertheless also recorded in America, is a transposition by dialect from the Roman (Latin) Avis, meaning a 'Bird'. The name is generally considered to be a nickname, but, may be job descriptive for a "Keeper of Birds", perhaps even a Falconer or a Bird Catcher, many of todays species i.e. Blackbirds being a former delicacy, "Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a Pie". Early records show the name as Bapitsimal, the first surname being recorded in the 13th Century. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Auyce. which was dated 1220, The Fines Court of Berkshire. during the reign of King Henry III, The Frenchman, 1216 - 1272. 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.