This interesting and unusual surname is a patronymic of Rand, which is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and has three possible sources. The first source is from the Middle English (1200 - 1500) given name "Rand(e)", a short form of any of the various Germanic compound personal names with the first element "rand", (shield) rim. The second source is from a topographical name for someone who lived on the margin of a settlement or on the bank of a river, derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "rand", rim, used in a topographical sense. The third source is locational from places named with this word, such as Rand in Lincolnshire and Rand Grange in North Yorkshire. The place in Lincolnshire was first recorded as "Rande" in the Domesday Book of 1086. Among the sample recordings in Lincolnshire are the christening of Christopher, son of Cristopher and Mary Rands, on November 28th 1681 at South Hykeham, and the marriage of Henery Rands and Margret Scrimshire on June 9th 1692 at St. Peters at Arches. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam Rand, which was dated 1275, The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestshire, during the reign of King Edward 1, "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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