Enderby

This unusual and interesting surname is of Old Norse origin, and is locational from places so called in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The placename is derived from the Old Norse personal name "Eindrith", made up of the elements "ein", one, sole, and "roeth", ruler; thus, "sole ruler", and the Old Norse "byr", farm, settlement. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The place in Leicestershire was first recorded as "Andretesbie" and "Endrebie", in the Domesday Book of 1086, and the place in Lincolnshire was first recorded as "Andrebi" and "Adredebi", also in the Domesday Book. The modern surname can be found recorded as Enderby and Endersby. Recordings of the surname from London Church Registers include the christening of Charles, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Enderby, on November 14th 1753, at the Protestant Dissentery Registry. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Enderbi, which was dated 1170 - 1198, in the "Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire", 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.