Pierrepont

This unusual name is of Norman (French) origin and is a locational name from any of the places called "Pierrepont" in Seine-Inferieure, Calvados, or La Manche in Normandy. The name was introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066 and is first recorded in the Domesday Book (see below). The placename means "the stone bridge", derived from the Olde French "Pierre", stone, with "pont", bridge. The surname development has included Richard de Pierrepunt (1178, Dorset), Roger Perpunt (1240, Nottinghamshire) and Simon de Perpoynt (1316, Northumberland). The modern surname can be found as "Pierrepoint", "Pierrepont" and "Pairpoint", among other forms. Anne Pierrepont was christened at St. Margaret's, Westminster on the 9th March 1631. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Reinaldus de Perapund, which was dated 1086, in the "Domesday Book (Norfolk)", during the reign of King William 1, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. 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.