Bosworth
A habitational surname taken from Bosworth in Leicestershire, especially associated with the historic Battle of Bosworth Field.
The #6,454 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 58,697 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bosworth is a habitational surname from Bosworth in Leicestershire, the place-name of two parishes: Husbands Bosworth and Market Bosworth. The second element is Old English worth, meaning an enclosed settlement, farmstead, or manor; the first element is less certain and may reflect an Old English personal name or other local feature. In surname use, it simply meant someone who came from that place.
History
The name is recorded in medieval forms such as de Bosworth, showing the common English pattern of surnames taken from a person's home village. The place is especially well known because of Bosworth Field, the site of the battle in 1485. The surname remained a fairly ordinary regional locational name and later spread beyond Leicestershire through migration.
Origin
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Fun fact
Bosworth is one of those surnames whose place-name instantly evokes a major turning point in English history: the defeat of Richard III at Bosworth Field in 1485.
From the historical record
“■N^lle to Larwell or Larwill, Frcche^ille to Fretwell, &c. BOSWORTH. Parishes in co. Leicester, one of which is historical for its famous battle. BOTFIELD. According to JMat. Paris, Geoffrey and Oliver de Bouteville, bro- thers, came from Poitou to assist King John, and from the former of these the heralds deduce…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom