This very rare surname spelling is a variant although possibly a Scandanavian one, of the Olde French "Saltere" (English -Psalter) meaning a player on a stringed instrument of the "harp" family. The "job description" was a Norman introduction after the 1066 Conquest, the original spelling being first found as "William le Saltere" described as a "Minstrel on the Pslater" at the Northumberland Assize Court in 1296. It is also possible that the name could have derived from the equally job descriptive "Sealtere", an Olde English word for a seller of salt but the name development suggests that this is unlikely. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ann Saltrye, which was dated 1573, married Robert Alline at Harefield, Middlesex, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Good Queen Bess, 1558 - 1603. 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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