Scotland

This unusual and interesting name has three documented origins, the first of which is from a Norman personal name composed of the elements "Scot" an ethnic name and "land", territory. The personal name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 at "Scotlandus" (from Kent) and "Scollandus" (Sussex), and is also found as "Escotland" and "Escolland". The second origin is English and is an ethnic name for someone from Scotland, usually for a Gaelic-speaker within Scotland, those who came originally from Ireland. The first recording from this source is that of "Galfridus de Scotland" in the Essex Pipe Rolls of 1193. The third origin is Scottish and locational and denotes someone from "Scotland (well)" near Loch Leven in Kinross, recorded first as "Richard de Scocia", 1178 - 1180, Kinross. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Escoland, which was dated 1155, in the Records of Durham Priory, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "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.