Colliss

This is an unusual variant on the surname "Collins", which is an English patronymic form of the early Middle English "Col(l)in", itself a diminutive of Coll, a pet form of Nicholas. The original personal name is Greek, meaning "people-victory" and has produced over one hundred alternative and variant derivatives. In this case the medieval development was, Nicholas - Nichol - Col - Cols (son of Col) - Collins or Collis(s), (son of Col) and shows how the medival personal names were a very fruitful source of modern day surnames. One Samuel Colliss was christened at Therfield in Hertfordshire on the 19th April, 1730. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Colles. which was dated 1327, in the "The Suffolk Pipe Rolls". during the reign of King Edward 11, "Edward of Caernafon" 1307 - 1327. 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.