Editing William Byrd (section)

===Birth and background===
Richard Byrd of [[Ingatestone]], Essex, the paternal grandfather of Thomas Byrd, probably moved to [[City of London|London]] in the 15th century. Thereafter succeeding generations of the Byrd family are described as gentlemen.{{sfn|Harley|2016b|pp=391{{ndash}}394}}

William Byrd was probably born in London, the third surviving son of Thomas Byrd and his wife, Margery.{{sfn|Harley|2016a|p=4}}{{refn|1=Byrd's father may have been recorded in the [[Scroll|rolls]] of the [[Worshipful Company of Fletchers]] in London, and a person of the same name was buried on 12 November 1575 at the church of [[All Hallows Lombard Street]] (now demolished).{{sfn|Harley|2016a|p=4}}|group=note}} No record of his birth has survived,{{sfn|Kerman|2001|p=714}} and the year of his birth is not known for certain, but a document dated 2 October 1598, and written by William Byrd, states that he is "58 yeares or ther abouts", making the year he was born to be 1539 or 1540.{{sfn|Harley|2016b|p=14}} Byrd's will of November 1622 provides a later date for his birth, as in it Byrd states that he was then in the "80th year of mine age". The historian Kerry McCarthy has suggested that discrepancy over these dates may have been due to the will not being kept up to date over a period of several years.{{sfn|McCarthy|2013|p=4}}

Byrd was born into a musical and relatively wealthy family.{{sfn|McCarthy|2013|p=3}} He had two older brothers, Symond and John,{{sfn|Kerman|2001|p=714}} who became London merchants and active members of their respective [[Livery company|livery companies]]. One of his four sisters, Barbara, was married to a maker of musical instruments who kept a shop; his three other sisters, Martha, Mary and Alice, were probably also married to merchants.{{sfn|McCarthy|2013|p=3}}{{sfn|Harley|2016a|p=18}}