Byrd (surname)

Byrd
Broxton The location of Broxton in Cheshire
Pronunciation	bɝd
Origin
Region of origin	England  Cheshire
Word/Name	Old English
Meaning	"Bird”
Other names
Variant(s)	Bird (common), Byrde, Bride, Brid, Bridde, Le Byrd, Le Brid, Le Bridde[1][2]

Byrd is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin.^[3] It is a variant spelling of the English word "Bird,"^[4] which is derived from the Old English pre-7th Century word "bridde" (Middle English "brid" or "bird").^[5] Another common variant of the surname is "Bird."^[6]

A European Goldfinch common to the region

Origin and variants

Byrd is a metonymic occupational or descriptive name that was originally used for a person who worked as a bird catcher (name shortened from "birdclever"),^[7] or someone who had bird-like characteristics (i.e., bright eyed or active, or perhaps one with a beautiful singing voice).^[8][9] A part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain, the surname Byrd was first found in Cheshire at Broxton, a village and civil parish in North West England where it has been present since long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.^[10] The surname was first recorded in Essex towards the end of the 12th Century as "Le Brid(d)."^[11]

Until the gradual standardization of English spelling in the last few centuries, English lacked any comprehensive system of spelling. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents, meaning that a person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. As such, different variations of the Byrd surname usually have the same origin.^[12]

Notable people with the surname

• Alma W. Byrd (1924-2017), American politician
• Bill Byrd (1907–1991), baseball player
• Bobby Byrd (born 1934), funk musician
• Butch Byrd (born 1941), AFL Hall of Fame
• Charles Willing Byrd (1770–1828), first sitting justice on the United States District Court of Ohio
• Charlie Byrd (1925–1999), jazz guitarist
• Chris Byrd (born 1970), heavyweight champion in boxing
• Curley Byrd (1889–1970), American university administrator, educator, athlete, coach, and politician
• Damiere Byrd (born 1993), American football player
• Darryl Byrd (born 1960), American football player
• David Edward Byrd (born 1941), an American graphic designer and painter
• Dennis Byrd (1966–2016), American football player
• Donald Byrd (1932–2013), jazz trumpeter
• Harry Byrd (baseball) (1925–1985)
• Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966), U.S. senator for Virginia
• Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (1914–2013), U.S. senator for Virginia from 1965 until 1983
• Henry Roeland Byrd (1918–1980), blues musician
• Imhotep Gary Byrd radio host and musician
• James Byrd, Jr. (1949–1998), murder victim
• Jairus Byrd (born 1986), American football player
• Jerry Byrd (1920–2005) Lap steel guitarist
• Joseph Byrd, rock musician
• Jonathan Byrd (musician) (born circa 1970), folk singer-songwriter
• Leo Byrd (born 1937), American basketball player
• Marlon Byrd (born 1977), baseball player
• Mary E. Byrd (1849–1934), American educator
• Mary Willing Byrd (1740–1814), second wife of Colonel William Byrd III
• Paul Byrd (born 1970), baseball player
• Petri Hawkins-Byrd, bailiff "Byrd" on the Judge Judy TV series
• Richard Byrd (born 1962), Former player for the NFL Houston Oilers
• Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), admiral, polar explorer, aviator
• Robert C. Byrd (1917–2010), U.S. Senator, Democrat from West Virginia
• Sammy Byrd (1910–1981), baseball player for the New York Yankees and PGA Tour golfer
• Steve Byrd, English rock musician
• Tracy Byrd (boxer) (born 1964)
• Tracy Byrd (born 1966), country singer
• William Byrd (1540–1623), English composer
• William Byrd I (1652–1704), member of colonial Virginia's House of Burgesses
• William Byrd II (1674–1744), founder of Richmond, Virginia
• William Byrd III (1728–1777), member of the House of Burgesses, and military officer
• Winifred Byrd (1884–1970), American concert pianist

See also

• Byrd (disambiguation)
• Bird (disambiguation)

References