Sictornes

This is a locational name of great rarity which is not perhaps surprising, given its dialectal changes. It derives from the Norse-Viking pre 8th Century "Sighulfs-torn", which appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as "Siglestorne" "The Thorn (wood) of Sighulf". The surname is preserved in the modern village of Sigglesthorne in East Yorkshire, but it is probable that at sometime in the Middle Ages the village was "cleared" either by plague, famine or for sheep farming as all known surname have a variant spelling. In this case early records are sparse indeed, with no known registrations in Yorkshire, and the name first arising in London when George and Rebekah Sicthurn witnessed the christening of their twin sons Isaac and Thomas, (recorded below). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of George Sicthurn, which was dated February 21st 1679, witness at St. Dunstans' church, Stepney, London, during the reign of King Charles 11, "The Merry Monarch", 1660 - 1685. 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.