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The Strathclyde-Briton people of ancient Scotland were the first to use the name Bour. It is a name for someone who works as a maker of bows. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English word bower, which means bow maker.
The surname Bour was first found in Peeblesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd nam Pùballan), former county in South-central Scotland, in the present day Scottish Borders Council Area, where they held a family seat in the old manor of Bower in the parish of Drummelzier.
One of the first records of the family was "Lorence atte Bure of the county of Peebles, and William Oftherebure of the county of Roxburgh [who] rendered homage [to King Edward I of England] in 1296." 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bour research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1317, 1387, 1449, 1479, 1489, 1615, 1664, 1671, 1681, 1685, 1686, 1689, 1702, 1705, 1706, 1718 and 1766 are included under the topic Early Bour History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before the printing press standardized spelling in the last few hundred years, no general rules existed in the English language. Spelling variations in Scottish names from the Middle Ages are common even within a single document. Bour has been spelled Bower, Bowre, Bowyr, Bowers, Bowyer, Beauer and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was Walter Bower or Bowmaker (d. 1449), Abbot of Inchcolm, reputed continuator of Fordun's 'Chronica Gentis Scotorum,' as it appears in the volume generally known as the 'Scotichronicon.'
Archibald Bower (1686-1766), was a Scottish author of the 'History of the Popes,' born on 17 Jan. 1685 at or near Dundee; according to his own account, he was descended from an ancient family which had been for several hundred years possessed of an estate in the county of Angus in Scotland. In 1702 he was sent to the Scotch college at Douay; afterwards proceeded to Rome...
Another 114 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bour Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In France, the name Bour is the 753rd most popular surname with an estimated 6,559 people with that name. 2
For Scottish immigrants, the great expense of travel to North America did not seem such a problem in those unstable times. Acres of land awaited them and many got the chance to fight for their freedom in the American War of Independence. These Scots and their ancestors went on to play important roles in the forging of the great nations of the United States and Canada. Among them:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: