Willmore

This interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from Wildmore in Lincolnshire, or the Weald Moors in Shropshire. Both placenames are composed of the Olde English pre 7th Century elements "wild" meaning wild, uncultivated, plus "mor", moor, marsh. It may also be a topographical name for "a dweller by the waste fen". The surname dates back to the early 13th Century, (see below). Early recordings include Thomas de la Wildemore (1275) in the Studies on Middle English Local Surnames of Worcestershire, and William de Wyldemor (1327) in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire. Variations in the spelling of the surname include Wilmore, Willmoor, and Willmoure. Church Records list the christening of Mary, daughter of James Wilmore, on September 14th 1570 at St. Gregory by St. Paul, London, and of Richard Willmore on October 31st 1602 at Skillington, Lincolnshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Wiltemore, which was dated 1221, in the "Assize Court Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.