This unusual and interesting name is of French origin and has two possible meanings. Firstly it could either be a nickname surname for one who is obstinate or stubborn, 'hard as a crust' and derives from the Old French 'Crouste', a crust (of bread) or alternatively it could be a metonymic occupational name for a baker, used perhaps as a nickname form of the personal names Christian or Christopher. One John Crust is recorded as having lived in Essex in 1273. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Herveus Cruste, which was dated 1109 Ramesey Rolls, Cambridgeshire, during the reign of King Henry I, The Lion of Justice, 1100 - 1135. 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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