Byers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Byers

What does the name Byers mean?

The roots of the Byers family are in the Boernician tribe of ancient Scotland. The Byers family lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed. 1 Thus, Byers is of two derivations, topographical and habitational.

Alternatively, the name could have been Norman in origin originating a “the chateau of Biars in the canton of Isigni, La Manche, Normandy. ” 2 3

Early Origins of the Byers family

The surname Byers was first found in East Lothian, where they held a family seat from ancient times. One of the first records of the name related to the place name as in David de Lindsay the younger, also called David Lindsay of the Byres (died 1279), a 13th century Scottish knight and crusader. John de Pyres appears as a monk of Neubotle in 1309. Thome de Byris owned a tenement in Edinburgh in 1392, and in 1534 Thomas Byrs was admitted burgess of Aberdeen. 4 Today, Byres Road is a famous street located in Hillhead, Glasgow.

In England, the first record of the family was found in Devon where Elias de la Byare was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. A few years later, Willelmus del Byre was found in the Subsidy Rolls

The Subsidy Rolls were taxation records of England and Wales that began in 1332 and continued until the Hearth Tax Returns or 1662 to 1674. Each roll was published by county.

https://www.houseofnames.com/blogs/Subsidy-Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301 and later again, John Buyres was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 5