Beasant

Beasant or Besant is an English language surname derived from a coin called the byzantius which is named after the city of Byzantium where they were first minted.

Because of the circular nature of the coins the word byzantius, or bezant, as it travelled across Europe, came to mean the 'circle or disk' represented on a coat of arms (in old French), also known as a roundel.

The word byzantius then travelled as a surname to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. The Beasants were gardeners in the King's court.