| Bywater | |
| Pronunciation: | baɪ.wɔːtər |
| Meaning: | by the water |
| Region: | Yorkshire |
| Language origin: | Old English |
Bywater is an uncommon English surname of Old English origin and can most frequently be found in the English region of Yorkshire. It is a topographical surname given to those who were situated near a body of water.
Bywater is an uncommon surname of Old English origin. It is a topographical surname given to those who were situated near a body of water.[1] The name derives from the merger of the Old English words bi (Middle English: by) and waeter (Middle English: water) to form biwaeter.
Topographical surnames are among the earliest created, because natural and artificial features in the landscape provided easily identifiable and distinguishing names among small communities in medieval England.[1]
The surname was first recorded by Thomas Bithewater, a witness to a wedding which dates to 1219, in the Yorkshire Assize Rolls.[1]
It was first recorded in Middle English at the marriage of John Bywater and Eleonar Copgood at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 19 September 1637.[1]