This interesting name is of early medieval English origin, derived from the Middle English "grene", (the colour) green, with "man", man. The surname, found as Greenman and Greenmon, has three possible sources; firstly, it may be derived from a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in green, as can also be the case with the modern "colour" surnames such as Grey and Black. Secondly, it may be a "nickname surname" for someone who had played the part of the "Green Man" in May Day celebration; modern surnames such as king and knight are similarly created "pageant" names. Finally, Greenman may derive from a topographical name for someone who lived near a village green or "at the sign of the Green Man", a popular public-house name. The marriage of William Greenman and Alse Kibsley was recorded William Greenman and Alse Kibsley was recorded at Cholsey, Berkshire on the February 1606, while in Canada, the name is recorded first in Nova Scotia, where Matilda, daughter of Joseph and Mary Elizabeth Greenman, was christened in West Hamilton, Wentworth, on October 1st 1850. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Greneman, which was dated 1357, in the "Court Rolls of the Borough of Colchester", Essex, during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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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