Shingler

This interesting and unusual name is of medieval English origin and is an occupational name for a person who laid wooden Shingles (tiles) on roofs. The derivation is from the Middle English "Schingle", a shingle, itself a development from the Old English pre 7th Century "scingel", and the Latin "Scindula". Other surnames connected with the building trade include, Tiler, Pointer and Thatcher. Langland speaks of Noah's Ark as the "shyngled ship", and Halliwell quotes "Flouren cakes beth the schingles alle, of cherche, cloister, boure, and halle". Among the early recordings in London is the marriage of Thomas Shingler and Rebecca Bonner at St. John's, Hackney, on May 23rd 1609 and the christening of Richard Shingler on February 24th 1614 at All Hallows, Honey Lane. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger le Shinglere, which was dated 1335, "Middle English Occupational Terms", Essex, during the reign of King Edward 111, "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.