This interesting name with variant spellings, Seamons, Se(m)mens, Seaman and Seyman can be either from a personal name or an occupational name of Anglo-Saxon origin. The personal name is the Old English pre 7th Century 'Saemann', composed of the elements 'sae', sea, plus 'mann', man; the patronymic forms Seamons and Se(m)mens meaning 'son of Seaman'. The second origin of the surname is an occupational name for a sailor. The surname Seaman is popular in Norfolk. The first recording of the surname was in the late 12th Century (see below). One Richard Seman appears in the Feet of Fines for Essex, 1235, and Geoffrey Semman in the Subsidy Rolls for London, 1292. On November 2nd 1572, one Annes Seamon married Harry Turck in St. Stephan, Coleman Street, London. One Elizabeth Seamon was christened on August 24th 1687 in St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Rufus Seman, which was dated 1182, Calendar of Abbot Samson, during the reign of King Henry 11, '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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