Gossington

This unusual name is of English locational origin, coming from the placename "Gosington" in Gloucestershire. As a placename it is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Gosintune" in the Pipe Rolls (Glocestershire) of 1196 as Gosington. The meaning is the enclosure, homestead or village of Gosa's people", from the Old English pre 7th Century personal name "Gosa", which when followed by the suffix "ing" in placenames means "family of", or "people of" plus "tun", an enclosure, village, and later town. Locational names were spread around the country when the original namebearers left their home places and went to live or work in another town, being known by where they had come from as for example "John (de) Gossington". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Margerie Gosington, married Henry Flude which was dated 10th November 1611, St. Margaret's, Westminster. during the reign of King James I of England and VI of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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.