Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Bourquin Coat of Arms / Bourquin Family CrestThis surname BOURQUIN was of the locational group of surnames meaning 'of de Burgoyne' a native of Burgundy. The name was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066. It was customary, during this period for a man to take the name of the village or town where he lived or held his land. This name would identify his whole family, and followed them wherever they moved. Early records of the name mention BURGOYNE (without surname) documented in London in 1198. John de Burgoyne, 1273 County Somerset. William Burgone was documented during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) in County Somerset. Elizabeth de Burgon of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. John Burgon married Susanna Parkin at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1764. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. An eminent member of the name was John Burgoune (1722-92) the English soldier and dramatist. He was educated at Westminster School, and entered the army in 1740. In 1743, he eloped with the daughter of the Earl of Derby, and lived for nine years in France. In the seven year's war (1756-63) he distinguished himself by the capture of Valencia (1762). When he returned to England he sat in Parliament as a Tory. Later, having gone over to the Whigs, he was commander-in-chief in Ireland from 1782-83. He was the author of plays including 'The Maid of the Oaks' (1775) and 'The Heiress' written in 1786. |
