The French surname of LA BONTE was of the nickname group of surnames meaning 'good little pet' a form of endearment, and a name given to a wished for child. The name was brought into England from France during the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066. The earliest of the name on record appears to be Hugo La BONT, who was documented in County Oxford, England in the year 1273, and Thomas BUNETON of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Surnames having a derivation from nicknames form the broadest and most miscellaneous class of surnames, encompassing many different types of origin. The most typical classes refer adjectivally to the general physical aspect of the person concerned, or to his character. Many nicknames refer to a man's size or height, while others make reference to a favoured article of clothing or style of dress. Many surnames derived from the names of animals and birds. In the Middle Ages ideas were held about the characters of other living creatures, based on observation, and these associations were reflected and reinforced by large bodies of folk tales featuring animals behaving as humans. The name is also spelt LaBUNT, BUNT, BUNTING, BOUNTY and BUNTE. A later instance of the name mentions Ernest Collman and Anna Maria BUNT, who were married at St. Dionis Backchurch, London, England in the year 1687. 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 most 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. |
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