Bere

This name is of English locational origin from any of the places in South West England containing the element "bere" for example, Bere Ferres in Devonshire, recorded as "Ber" in the 1242, Fine Court Rolls of that county. "Ber" derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "byrh" a fort or fortified manor and "Ferrers" from William de (of) Feres, a Norman who held the Manor in the 13th Century. Bere Forest in Hampshire, recorded as La Bera in the 1168, Pipe Rolls of that county, derives its first element from the Olde English pre 7th Century "baer" meaning (swine) pasture and Bere Regis in Dorset, appearing as Bere in the Domesday Book of 1086 and as Kingesbere in the 1380 Charters of that county, is believed to derive from the Olde English "bere", barley or corn. One, Nicholas Attebere appears in the 1247, Assize Court Rolls of Somerset and a Walter de la Bere in the 1263, Pipe Rolls of Surrey. On November 23rd 1545, Johane Bere and Rycharde Hunte were married in Colyton, Devonshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ordric de Bera, which was dated 1168 - The Pipe Rolls of Devonshire, during the reign of King Henry II, 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.