This is a metronymic i.e. 'the son of Caterin', a variant spelling of the personal name, Catherine, coming from the Greek 'Ratharos' meaning 'pure'. The name was brought to England by crusaders in the 12th century and was a popular given name throughout the Middle Ages. The surname Caterin is first recorded in 'The Assize Court Rolls of Bedfordshire' (1247). The metonymic (minus the diminutive 'in') first appears in the 17th century. In 1733 one John Brown married a Martha Catterson in St. George's Church, Hanover Square. (London Marriage Licence Records). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Francis Catterson, (churchwarden of Skipton), which was dated 1664, in Dawson's 'History of Skipton', during the reign of King Charles 11, in the Merry Monarch, 1660 - 1685. 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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