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BRIDE Family History

This name, with variant spellings Byrd, Byrde and Bride, is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "bridde" (Middle English "brid" or "bird"), meaning a bird, originally given as a nickname to one thought to bear a fancied resemblance to a bird, i.e., bright eyed or active, or perhaps to one with a beautiful singing voice. The surname was first recorded towards the end of the 12th Century (see below), and other early recordings include: Ralph le Brid(d), a witness in the 1235 Fine Court Rolls of Essex, and Richard Bird, a witness in the 1260 Assize Court Rolls of Cambridgeshire...