Lotherington

This unusual and interesting surname, with variant spellings Lottrington, Lotterington, Loiterton etc., is of English locational origin from a place in the West Riding of Yorkshire now called Lotherton, but initially recorded as Luttrington in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, dated 963. Other early spellings of the placename include Luteringtun circa 1030 "Early Yorkshire Charters", and Luterington, the "Fine Court Rolls of Yorkshire", dated 1225. The place is believed to have been so called from the old English pre 7th Century "Hlutringas" meaning "the people at a stream or spring called Hlutre". "Hlutre" means "the clean one", from the old English "hluttor", clean. On January 28th 1579 Agnes Lotherington, an infant, was christened in Nunnington, Yorkshire, and on December 16th 1692 William Henry, son of Joseph Lotherington, was christened in St. Katherine's by the Tower, London. A Coat of Arms granted to the Lotherington or Lotherton family depicts a red fesse on a silver shield with two red crescents in chief. The fesse is emblematic of the military girdle worn round the body over the armour and the Crescent is associated with faith and hope. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Lottrington, (marriage to Emma Wilson), which was dated July 9th 1571, Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess" 1558 - 1603. 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.