Recorded in several forms including Love, Luff, Louve, and diminutives such as Lovering and Lovring, this is an English surname. It has at least two possible origins. The first is as a derivative of the Olde English pre 7th century personal name "Lufa" which is recorded in the Feudal Documents of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, in the year 1095, whilst slightly later Galfridus filius Love appears in the Pipe Rolls of the adjoining county of Norfolk in the year 1208. The second possible origin was as a nickname from the Norman French word "louve" meaning a female wolf. This creature was renowned for her bravery and ferocity in fighting and therefore was a complimentary nickname for a soldier. Amongst the early recordings in the surviving charters is that of Willim Luuering of Surrey in the Pipe Rolls of the year 1203, and later in the city of London is the marriage of John Luff and Elizabeth White on November 20th 1695 at St. James church, Dukes Place, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is probably that of Peter Love. This was dated 1155, in the Fines Court Rolls of the county of Essex, during the reign of King Henry 111rd of England, 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the 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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