Frotton

This is a variant spelling of the English locational village name "Fritton", the villages so called being found in East Anglia, in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. The villages were first recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book, commissioned by King William 1 (1066 - 1087), known as "The Conqueror", the work providing the first true recordings of land ownership in the western world. However, few surnames existed at this time, people being known purely by their baptismal name. It would seem that circa 1550, the villages were cleared by the landowners, the buildings destroyed, and the inhabitants dispersed, many making their way to London. These people took as their surname the name of their former village, and as spelling was rudimentary, this soon lead to a number of variant forms. These included Frytton, Fretton, Freton, Friton, Froton and Frotton, one of the earliest recordings being that of Jana Froton (as spelt Frotton), who married Ricardus Gedes at the famous church of St. Martin in the Fields, London, on February 5th 1670, in the reign of King Charles 11 (1660 - 1685). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry Frytton, which was dated May 5th 1551, christened at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, London, during the reign of King Edward V1, known as "The Boy King", 1547 - 1554. 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.