This unusual and interesting surname is of early medieval English origin, and is a diminutive of the male given name Julian, itself coming from the Latin "Julianus", a derivative of "Julius", a name related to "Iovis", the supreme god, whose name seems to be akin to words for "sky", "light" and "day". This name was borne by a number of early saints including St. Julian the Hospitaller, the patron of travellers. It was introduced into England in the late 12th Century, and is first recorded in the Latin form "Julianus" in Documents relating to the Danelaw, Lincolnshire, dated 1185. Early examples of the surname include: Walter Julien (Lincolnshire, 1200) and Henry Julian (Suffolk, 1327). In the modern idiom the surname has a number of variant spellings including: Julian(s), Julien, and Joll(e). One Thomas filius (son of) Golle appears in the 1196 Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, and a William Jolle was noted in the 1327 Subsidy Rolls of Sussex. Recordings from London Church Registers include the christening of Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth Jull, at St. Mary Whitechapel, Stepney, on July 1684, and the marriage of Robert Jull to Ann Halford at St. Martin in the Fields, on February 20th 1763. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Julle, which was dated 1317, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Kent", during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. 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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