NORFOLK SURNAMES: B

BUCKET/BURKETT/BOUQUET:
Not everyone is happy with the surname they are given and some will try to change it.
Patricia Routledge, left, is well-known for her character of Hyacinth Bucket who is always pronouncing the name as though it were a bunch of flowers.
If she studied names she might have found that her existing name was preferable as it probably originates from a mispronunciation of the name Burkett, based on an Old English name Burgheard which meant strong fort — implying a hardiness and stolidity which Hyacinth would have revelled in.
The name Bouquet, meanwhile, is a French version of Buck which in England was given to a man with a fancied resemblance to a he-goat (either through his Lecherous tendencies or his rancid smell).
Hyacinth would obviously have nothing to do with that.
Patricia Routledge’s own name is found mainly on the English/Scottish border but its origins are unknown.

BUNN:
Although Mr Bunn the baker may remind people of Happy Families the name does not evolve from a baking background. Bunn is a variation on the name Bone, an English nickname of Norman origin meaning ‘good’.Variations include: Bonn, Bone and Boon.
The name is mentioned 535 times in the 1881 census for Norfolk.
There are 2911 references to the name Bunn, or similar, in the Norfolk International Genealogical Index. The earliest being 1561.

SURNAME DIRECTORY: A B C D E F G H I J K N P R S T

Click the letter to see some examples of surnames, their meanings and distribution in Norfolk.