Storrs

This interesting name derives from the Olde Norse personal/nickname Stori, a derivative of "Storr" meaning "big" or "large". The forenames Stori and Estori (without surname) are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The surname form this source first appears at the beginning of the 13th Century (see below). One, Thomas Storre appears in the 1379 "Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire". The variant forms of the name Storr, Storre, Storres and Storrs, also Stor(e)y are well recorded in northern English county records, especially in Yorkshire, from the mid 16th century onwards. The marriage of "Elizabeth Storrs" and "Holland Cooksey" was recorded on the 16th November 1751 at St. George's, Mayfair. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey Stor. which was dated 1200, in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk. during the reign of King John, known as Lackland, 1199 - 1216. 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.