Story

This interesting surname derives from the Old Norse personal byname "Stori", a derivative of "Storr" meaning big or large. The forenames Stori and Estori (without surname) are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1066. Later, the name is found in the Northern English counties, especially Yorkshire, Reginaldus filius (son of) Story, the Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire (1219). The surname from this source is first recorded towards the middle of the 13th Century. Other spellings of the name are Stori (1281), with Storre and Staury, the 1379 Poll Tax Returns Records of Yorkshire. The spellings Storry and Storey emerge in the 16th Century. Amongst the early recordings was Christopher Storey baptised at St. James' Church, Clerkenwell, London in 1576, and on April 8th 1637, William Storey, aged 23 years., appeared on a register of persons "all desirous to pass to Boston in New England there to inhabitt".A Coat of Arms was granted to the family in the time of Richard 11 and has the blazon of silver shield thereon a lion rampant double queued purple charged on the shoulder with a cross pattee in silver. The Crest being, out of a ducal coronet a leopard's face. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander Story, which was dated 1248, a witness in the "Fine Court Rolls 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.