BURY
Bury is an English surname that originates from the Old English word burh, meaning a fortified place or stronghold. The name is therefore both topographical, indicating a residence near a fortified location, and locational, referring to those who hailed from a number of places called Bury throughout England.
Several localities carry the name Bury, including Bury in Cambridgeshire, Bury in Huntingdonshire, Bury in Lancashire, Bury in West Sussex and Bury in Greater Manchester. Individuals whose ancestors came from these districts were often identified by the surname Bury. The earliest documented use of the name appears in the early 13th century; the Pipe Rolls of Cornwall record a Gilbert de la Beri in 1202 during the reign of King John.
The surname has a number of variants that arose from differences in spelling and pronunciation over time. These include Bury, Burye, Burie, Burry, Berrey and Berrie. In some instances it has been used as a variation of the surname Berry, derived from the Old English word berige meaning berry, which would have identified a person living near a berry bush or working as a picker.
While the English origin of Bury is firmly established, the name also appears in France as a patronymic derived from the Old French given name Bourg. French variants such as Burie, Buris, Bourie and Boury reflect this lineage and demonstrate the surname’s spread beyond English borders.
In terms of distribution, Bury is most commonly found in England, particularly in the Greater Manchester and Lancashire regions owing to the prominence of the town of Bury in Greater Manchester. The surname has also spread to Australia, Canada and the United States, largely through emigration during the 17th century. According to data compiled in 2014, Bury ranked the 8,371st most common surname in the world.
The family’s coat of arms is described as follows: the field is ermine, a blue bend carries a bezant framed by two gold fleur-de-lis, symbolising victory over the French. The crest shows a tiger's head erased between two fleur-de-lis. The family motto is Virtus sub cruce crescit, which translates as “Virtue increases under the cross.”
Typical given names associated with the Bury surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Jonathan
- Michael
- Richard
- Stephen
- Thomas
Female
- Amy
- Anne
- Carol
- Catherine
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Joanne
- Mary
- Patricia
- Rachel
- Sarah
- Sheila
- Susan
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
- Bary
- Barry
- Bahry
- Barre
- Barrie
- Barys
- Bari
- Baughey
- Baury
- Bairy
- Barye
- Barey
- Barrey
- Baharie
- Bahrey
- Bur
- Bura
- Burye
- Bearey
- Beary
- Beery
- Berey
- Berrey
- Berry
- Bery
- Beury
- Bewrey
- Bewry
- Biery
- Birrey
- Biry
- Borey
- Bory
- Borys
- Bourey
- Boury
- Buary
- Buery
- Buray
- Bure
- Burey
- Buri
- Burie
- Buris
- Burr
- Burrey
- Burri
- Burrie
- Burry
- Burys
- Bariey
- Barrys
- Baruya
- Baryah
- Beri
- Berrie
- Biri
- Biryah
- Bori
- Borry
- Bouri
- Buria
- Buro
- Burray
- Burre
- Burries
- Burris
- Burs
- Burylo
- Bowry
- Bray
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Bury in...
Braille
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Morse
-.....-.-.-.--
Semaphore
There are approximately 2,231 people named Bury in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,841st most common surname in Britain. Around 34 in a million people in Britain are named Bury.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Bury
- J. B. Bury - Irish historian and freethinker (1861 to 1927)
- Sean Bury - Actor
- William Henry Bury - Murderer and "Jack the Ripper" suspect (1859 to 1889)
- Robert Gregg Bury - Classical philologist (1869 to 1951)
- Stephen J. Bury - Andrew W. Mellon Chief Librarian of the Frick Art Reference Library
- Oliver Robert Hawke Bury - Railway engineer, chief mechanical engineer on the Great Western Railway of Brazil, General Manager (1861 to 1946)
- George Wyman Bury - Naturalist, explorer, author, Arabist, and political officer in the British army (1874 to 1920)
- Priscilla Susan Bury - Botanist and artist (1799 to 1872)
- Edmund Bury - Racquets player (1884 to 1915)
- Lindsay Bury - Football player (1857 to 1935)
- Edward Bury - Engineer (1794 to 1858)
- Thomas Bury - Cricketer (1831 to 1918)
- William Bury - Cricketer (1839 to 1927)
- John Bury - Set, costume and lighting designer (1925 to 2000)
- Frederick Bury - Cricketer (1836 to 1885)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.