_Bancroft._ _Bán_, pronounced _bawn_, bone; _croft_, a level tract of
country, an enclosed field. A graveyard.
_Bald._ _Báld_, bold, courageous, honorable.
_Baldwin._ _Báld_, pronounced _bawld_, bold; _win_, a contest, battle.
Bold in battle. Baldewin, Boldwin, less ancient forms of the name.
_Banham._ _Bán_, bone; _hám_, home. The bone-home; the grave.
_Barton._ _Bere_, corn; _tún_, town. A corn-farm; a corn-village; a
grange.
_Beal._ _Beal_, evil. Beale, identical in derivation.
_Beda._ _Beada_, counsellor, persuader, exhorter.
_Bedell._ _Bædel_, a beadle. A messenger belonging to a court, or public
body; a petty officer in a church.
_Beck._ _Béc_, or _bóc_, a book. Beck, Bock, Bok, analogous names.
_Beckingham._ _Beck_, Beck; _ing_, a son; _hám_, home. The home of the
son of Beck.
_Bishop._ _Bisceop_, a bishop, a high-priest, a prelate.
_Blake._ _Blæc_, black. Black, of like parentage.
_Boardman._ _Bórd_, a shield; _man_, a man. A warrior; a knight.
_Brice._ _Brice_, fragment, rupture, violation, use, service. Bryce, only
another spelling of the same.
_Brock._ _Bróc_, a brook, a rivulet. Brook, Brooke, from the same root.
_Brooks._ _Brook_, Brook; _s_ for _sun_, son. Son of Brook.
_Bronson._ _Brown_, from _brún_, brown, and _sun_, son. Son of Brown.
_Bront._ _Bront_, raging, streaming. Brunt, doubtless, from the same
source. Some, perhaps, would consider it a corruption of _burnt_, made
brown.
_Browning._ _Brown_, Brown; _ing_, a descendant. Descendant of Brown.
_Burn._ _Byrne_, burning, a coat of mail, a corselet.
_Burr._ _Búr_, a chamber, a bower. Perhaps, from _beorg_, or _beorh_, a
hill.
_Burwick._ _Búr_, a chamber; _wic_, a dwelling, village, camp. The
guest-chamber.