Gammet

This unusual and interesting name is of French origin and is the Anglicization of the Provencal diminutive ("little" or "son of") of the name James, which is generally found as Jam(m)et. The changing of the French "J" into a "G" was a common English practice in medieval times. James derives from the Latin "Jacobus", and has the same origin as Jacob, which comes via the Latin, from the Hebrew "Yaakov", a personal name associated with the Hebrew word "akev", a heel. In most European languages the names Jacob and James are indistinguishable. The variant spellings of Gamet include, Gemnett, Jammet, Gammade, and Gam(m)et(t), and in Little Burstead, Essex, is recorded the christening of Francis Gamet in August 1799. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Gammade, which was dated September 13th 1547, in the "St. Anthoin, Budge Row", London, during the reign of King Edward V1, known as "The Boy King", 1547 - 1553. 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.