Whyberd

This unusual and interesting name can be either Anglo-Saxon or Old French (Norman) in origin. It derives from a combination, or coalescing, of personal names; the Old English pre 7th Century 'wigbeorht', composed of the elements 'wig', war, and 'beorht', bright, and the Old French 'Wibert' or 'Guibert', adopted from the Old German 'Wigbert', which has the same meaning as the Old English name. The Old French forms were introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and the first recording of the personal name occurs in the Domesday Book (Yorkshire) of 1086 as 'Wibert', and in Essex as 'Guibertus'. The modern surname can be found as 'Whyberd', 'Whybird', 'Wyberd' and 'Wyburd'. One Thomas Whyberd was christened on the 23rd April 1809 at St. Mary Magdalene's Bermondsey, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Wyberd, which was dated 1327, The Sussex Subsidy Rolls, during the reign of King Edward III, 'The Father of the Navy', 1327 - 1377. 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.