The surname of AYRE was an official name 'the heir'. Following the crusades in Europe in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, a need was felt for a family name to replace the one given at birth, or in addition to it. This was recognized by those of noble birth, and particularly by those who went on the Crusades, as it added prestige and practical advantage to their status. Early records of the name mention Roger de Hayre who was recorded in the County of Norfolk in 1264. Thomas Ayr of Yorkshire was recorded in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, and Richard Ayre of County Lancashire appears in 1400. Humphrey Mercer married Katherine Ayer in London in the year of 1583. Francis Lee married Ann Ayre at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1757. Between the 11th and 15th centuries it became customary for surnames to be assumed in Europe, but they were not commonplace in England or Scotland before the Norman Conquest of 1066. Those of gentler blood assumed surnames at this time, but it was not until the reign of Edward II (1307-1377) that it became a common practice for all people. One of several families bearing the surname traces its descent from Humphrey le Heyr of Bromham, County Wiltshire, who was one of the crusaders who accompanied Richard I to the Holy Land in the 12th century. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God. However much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe.