Beaudry

This most interesting surname has two possible origins. Firstly, it may be of early medieval French origin, as a variant of "Beaudroit, Beaudrez", a nickname for someone with a fine presence, martial bearing, or someone who was beautiful or upright, from the French "beau", good, and "-droit", straight, upright. The name was introduced into England by French Huguenots who fled France as a result of religious persecution in the late 16th and 17th Centuries. However, Beaudry may also be a variant of "Baudry", a French surname from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "bald", bold, brave, and "-ric", power, which was found in Olde English pre 7th Century as "Bealdric", reinforced by the Normans as "Baldri, Baudri", giving rise to the English surname "Baldry". Early examples include: the christening of Abraham, son of Jean and Elizabeth Baudry, on August 30th 1618, at Threadneedle Street French Huguenot Church, London; the christening of Jaques Baudry on June 29th 1623, also at Threadneedle Street; while Toussaint, son of Louis and Vincente Beaudry, was christened at St. Jean de Velluire, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Jaques Baudrey, which was dated February 15th 1607, marriage to Marie Le Sourd, in London, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.