This is an East Anglian surname which derives from an Olde English personal patronymic 'Groening'. The original name translates as 'the son (ing) of Green' - the latter presumably being a person who resided by the village green, or one who played the part of 'Jack o' the green', a mythical figure associated with the May Day celebrations. In later medieval times the surname may also have derived from a nickname one who was 'green', some fifteen percent of all surname deriving from a similar 'robust' source. The 'modern' recordings include Agnes Greeninge, who married Edward Wilson on August 12th 1609 at St. James, Clerkenwell, George Greening, christened on December 31st 1688 and Emma Greenin, recorded on March 29th, 1829 at St. Martins in the Field, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Grenyg, which was dated 1273, The Hundred Rolls of County Norfolk, 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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