This interesting name originated either as an ethnic byname for Scandinavian settlers in England, who came to be known as Northmen or Normen, from the Olde English "Northmann" (plural "Northmenn"), meaning "men from the North", or as a post - Conquest name for someone from Normandy in the North of France. The derivation in this case is from the Old French "Normand" or "Normant", a Norman. Many of these Normans were themselves originally of Scandinavian origin, which makes for an interesting re-introduction of the name into England. The personal byname Norman, with its Latinized form "Normannus", was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and continued in popularity as a personal name throughout the subsequent Centuries. The surname first emerges in the latter part of the 12th Century, (see below). Other early recordings include: John le Norman, (Warwickshire, 1221); Robert Northman, (Oxfordshire, 1279) and John Normand, (Roxburghshire, 1303). George Warde Norman, (1793 - 1882), a respected writer on finance, who was director of the Bank of England from 1821 - 1872. A Coat of Arms granted to the Norman family of Somerset is a barry nebulee of eight silver and red on a black bend three escallops proper. The Crest is a cubit arm embowed in armour proper, pommelled and hilted gold, and the Motto, "Pro fide strictus", translates as "Bound for faith". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo Norman, which was dated 1171, in the "Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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