Eyeington

This rare and unusual surname, with variant spelling Eyington, is of English locational origin from one of the estimated seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets that have now disappeared from the maps in Britain. The prime cause of these "disappearances" was the enforced "clearing" and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 14th Century. Natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348, also contributed to the lost village phenomenon. The original place is believed to have been in Yorkshire, with the component elements being the old English pre 7th Century "eg" an island or a piece of land situated on a stream or between streams, "ing" dweller at plus "tun" a homestead or village; hence "dweller at the homestead by the stream(s)". Recordings of the surname from Yorkshire church registers include; Joseph, son of William and Elizabeth Eyeington, who was christened on March 30th 1827, at Westow; and John Eyeington married Lois Welburn, on July 6th 1835, at Sculcoates. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Eyeington, witness at a christening, which was dated June 30th 1822, Weslow Yorkshire, during the reign of King George 1V, nicknamed Prinny, 1820 - 1830. 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.