Origin of the surname Butcher

This interesting surname is of French origin and is an occupational name for a butcher or slaughterer, an important occupation in medieval England. The derivation is from the Old French "bouchier" and the Middle English development "bo(u)cher". The following examples illustrate the name development after 1184 (see below), Richard le Bucher (1240 Feet of Fines of Essex), William Bochier (1327 Subsidy Rolls of Sussex), Alan le Boucher (ibid), Thomas le Bouker (1332 Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire). In the modern idiom the variants include Bucher, Bou(t)cher, Boucker, and Bowker.

Occupational surnames originally denoted the actual occupation followed by an individual, and later became hereditary. One Richard Butcher (1583 - 1665) was town clerk of Stanford (1646) and the name is recorded in Barbados, on the Baptismal Register of December 1678, in St. Michael's parish, with the baptism of Richard, the infant son of John and Mary Butchep. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ailwardus le Bochere which was dated 1184, in the Pipe Rolls of London, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.

The surname Butcher. Genealogy, origin, history, meaning, and significance

The origin, the coat of arms or the different heraldic shields, and the bibliography in which the surname butcher is mentioned are part of this exciting investigation. We can try to trace the genealogy of the surname butcher, and in addition to the original locations of butcher, we can find out where people with the surname butcher can currently be found.

The surname Butcher around the world

The list of countries with a higher presence of people with the surname butcher provides us with a perspective on the history of the surname, beyond its origins, focusing on its migrations. The mobility of people carrying the surname butcher has led to its presence in different countries, as you can verify.

History of Butcher

For those like you, who are interested in the history hidden behind the surname butcher, it is essential to find all kinds of information, both direct and tangential, that helps to construct a solid narrative of how the birth and expansion of butcher developed. The history, heraldry, coats of arms, and possible nobility of the surname butcher are scattered in documents across various regions and historical periods, so it is necessary to reconstruct a complex puzzle to approach the facts from a realistic perspective.

We keep our website updated through our own research and also thanks to contributions from people like you, after verification; so if you have information about butcher and send it to us, we will update it on this website. Please note that if you are in a position to provide more data about the surname butcher or any other surname and its origin, we would appreciate your collaboration with us by sending us information about the origin of butcher.

Notable Figures Named Butcher

Sadly, not all the contributions of those who bore the surname butcher were recorded by the chroniclers of the time. A surname like butcher can connect a person to an illustrious lineage and a distinguished coat of arms. However, it must be kept in mind that it is individual people who, through their lives and actions, bring fame and recognition to their surnames. It is our desire to highlight in this section those individuals with the surname butcher who, for various reasons, have left their mark on the course of history.

The surname Butcher and its bibliographic sources

The origin, history, coat of arms or different coats of arms, and the heraldry of butcher are recorded in a wide variety of sources and documents that are essential to know for better compilation. We consider it highly advisable to refer to the following sources if you wish to conduct research on the surname butcher, as well as many other surnames.

SOURCES

These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of butcher, and at the same time, of surnames in general.

Origin of Butcher