Vurley - Name

The ultimate origin of this interesting name is believed to be Verli, a place in Aisne, Picardy, (Northern France), so called from the Gallo-Roman personal name Virilius, a derivative of Virilis, "male", from "vir", a man, plus the locational suffix - acum, a settlement. One, Robert de Verli, a French lord, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, was granted the manor of Salcott, Essex. This placename, appearing as Salcota in the Domesday Book, means "shelter or cottage, (Old English "cot"), where salt was made or stored". In 1291, the manor was recorded as "Salcote Verly" incorporating the master's surname, and in the modern idiom appears as Virley. The spelling "Varley", a variant form of "Virli" or "Verl(e)y" emerged in the early 14th Century; Thomas de Varley, ("Documents relating to Feudal Aids", 1316). On August 25th 1633, Thomas, son of John Vurley, was christened in St. John's Hackney, London, and on July 21st 1774, Ann Vurley and Isaac Fawcett were married in St. Andrew by the Wardrobe, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Vurley, (witness at a christening), which was dated January 30th 1630, St. John's, Hackney, London, during the reign of King Charles 1, "The Martyr", 1625 - 1649. 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.