Wishlist
Menu
Cart
HouseofNames
Wishlist
Cart

Show ContentsByus History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Product

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

4.9 Average Rating

The Byus family roots are found in the Boernician Clan of ancient Scotland. They 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 Byus family

The surname Byus 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 for Yorkshire in 1301 and later again, John Buyres was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 5

Early History of the Byus family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Byus research. Another 141 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1309, 1392, 1534, 1593, 1639, 1653, 1681, 1690, 1694, 1733, 1750, 1790, 1817 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Byus History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Byus Spelling Variations

In the Middles Ages scribes spelled names by their sound. Often a name was written under a different spelling variation each time it was recorded. Byus has appeared as Byers, Byres, Byer, Buyers, Byris and others.

Early Notables of the Byus family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Nicholas Byer (d. 1681), Norwegian painter, a native of Drontheim in Norway. He practised portrait and historical painting, and on emigrating to England found a steady patron in Sir William Temple, at whose seat at Sheen, in Surrey, he lived for three or four years. His reputation as a face-painter must have been considerable; several persons of distinction, including some members of the royal family, sat to him. Dying at Sheen in 1681 he is said to have been the first person buried at...
Another 91 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Byus Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Byus family to Ireland

Some of the Byus family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Canada Byus migration to Canada +

The ancestors of Boernician-Scottish settlers dot North America even today. They settled all along the east coast when they came over, but some went north as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the War of Independence. However, these strong lines endured as Scottish families in the United States and Canada have rediscovered much of the heritage that was taken from them centuries ago. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Byus, or a variant listed above:

Byus Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • R Byus, who landed in Victoria, British Columbia in 1862
  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Houseofnames.com on Facebook