Cresser

This interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "creas", Middle English "crease", meaning "fine, elegant". The surname would have originated as either a job-descriptive name for a maker of fine clothes or garments, or as a nickname fro a smart dresser. The creation of surnames from nicknames was a common practice in the Middle Ages, and many modern-day surnames derive from medieval nicknames referring to personal characteristics or occupation. The surname is first recorded in the late 11th Century (see below). In the modern idiom the surname can be found as Creser, Creaser, Cresar, Cressar, Cressor and Cresser. Recordings of the surname from London Church Registers include: the christening of William, son of Thomas Cressor, on May 22nd 1631, at St. Giles' Cripplegate; the christening of Deborah Creasor on April 16th 1673, at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate; and the christening of Samuell, son of George and Hannah Creaser on May 8th 1696, at All Hallows the Great. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Cenric Cres, which was dated 1095, in the "Register of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds", Suffolk, during the reign of King William 11, known as "Rufus", 1087 - 1100. 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.