This unusual name is a variant either of the Olde French 'Ferrant' a metonymic for an iron worker or a nickname for a person with iron-grey hair, or it is a derivative of the Anglo-Saxon personal name, Farre-hine which translates as 'Bull servant'. The name development suggests that the latter origin is the most likely as the intrusive 'y' does not appear in any of the known medieval and Middle English recordings. The name recordings include Mary Farryain who married John Wells at St. James, Dukes Place, London on October 25th 1688. The modern spelling does not appear to be recorded before 1860. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Farhyn, which was dated 1297, The Accounts of the Duchy of Cornwall, during the reign of King Edward I, 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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