This interesting surname is a patronymic of the English given name "Andrew", itself coming from the Greek personal name "Andreas" meaning "manly". The first of Jesus Christ's disciples is known by this name. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and there is a legend that his relics were brought there in the 4th Century by St. Regulus. The personal name appears as "Andreas" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and the surname dates back to the late 13th Century (see below). Variations in the spelling of the surname include Andros, Androes, Andrewes, and Androwes. Church Records list the christening of David, son of Edward Andrews, on January 6th 1572, at St. Giles, Cripplegate, and the marriage of James Andrewes to Euphemia Masterton on August 10th 1798, in Edinburgh Parish, Edinburgh. One Samuell Andrews, aged 37 yrs., an early emigrant to the New World, sailed from London aboard the "Increase" bound for New England on April 13th 1635. A Coat of Arms granted to the Andrews family is gold, on a blue pile a dove proper in base, on either side a mullet of the second pierced of the field. The Crest is upon a green mount a dove holding in the beak an olive leaf slipped proper, and charged on the breast with a red escallop. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Moricius Andrewys, which was dated 1275, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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