Foxon

This interesting surname with variant spellings Folkson, Foxon, Foxen is a patronymic form of the Norman given name Fulco, itself a short form of the various Germanic names with the first element "folk" (Old French "fulco") meaning "people". The name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Folco, Fulco. The surname dates back to the early 13th Century (see below). Further recordings include one Richard Foke (1221) "Assize Rolls of Worcestershire", and Robert Fulco (1227) "Assize Rolls of Staffordshire". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Foulkes, Fookes, Foukx, Foux, Fowkes, Foulkes, Foxen, Foxson etc.. Elinor, daughter of John Foxson, was christened at St. Bride Fleet Street, London on August 4th 1604. William, son of William and Elisabeth Foxon, was christened at St. Andrew Undershaft, London on June 24th 1624, and Elizabeth daughter of Robert and Alice Foxen was christened at St. Bartholomew the Great, London on July 16th 1626. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Fuke, which was dated 1209 "The Pipe Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.