This unusual and interesting surname is a variant of the surname Phillmore, which is of English origin and is derived from the Norman personal name Filimor. The personal name is composed of the Germanic elements "filu", very and "meri, mari", famous, thus "very famous". The name was introduced into England by the Normans after the Invasion of 1066. The name development since 1598 (see below) includes the following: Alice Fillmar (1608, London), Saray Phillmore (1683, London) and William Phillimore (1795, London). The modern surname can be found as Filmer, Phillimore, Fellimore, Philymore, Philmore and Fillmar. Among the sample recordings in London were the marriages of Robert Filmer and Frances Chester on March 5th 1564 at St. Dunstan in the East, and of Bastian Filmer and Jane Wood in 1654 at Clerkenwell. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joan Filmore (marriage to John Gobin), which was dated August 27th 1598, St. Lawrence Jewry and St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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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