Le Page

This interesting surname, of Old French origin, was initially introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and subsequently by French Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution in their own country from the early 17th Century on. The derivation is from the Middle English and Old French "page", valet, a young servitor, from the Italian "paggio", apparently ultimately from the Greek "paidion", a diminutive of "pais", boy, child, with the French definite article "le". The page was originally a boy in training for knighthood, in personal attendance on a knight, and later the term denoted a youth in the personal service of a person of rank, especially in a royal household. Job-descriptive surnames, such as this, initially referred to the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. On February 10th 1611, Marie, daughter of Dauid Le Page, was christened in the French Huguenot Church, Threadneedle Street, London, and on July 12th 1621, Marie Le Page and Jean de Luce were married at Rumigny, Ardennes, France. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William le Page, which was dated 1240, in the "Feet of Fines of Essex", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.