Strangman

This rare and interesting name is of early medieval English origin, and has two possible interpretations, each with its own distinct derivation. Firstly, Stringman may be an occupational surname for someone who made string, particularly strings for bows; the derivation here is from the Middle English "string", string, a development of the Olde English pre 7th Century "streng", with "man(n)", man, often specifically used to denote an occupation. The surnames String and Stringer are from the same source. Secondly, Stringman is one of the variant forms of the surname Strongman or Strangman, deriving from the Middle English or Olde English "strong, strang", strong, with "man(n)", man; this was used as a nickname or byname for a man considered to be particularly strong and bold, although in some cases it may also have been used ironically of a "weakling". Many early surnames derive from nicknames, often given in the first instances with reference to a person's physical attributes or appearance, while job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and gradually became hereditary. Recordings of the name from Church Registers include: the marriage of Joane Stringman and Henrie Howell at Maidstone, Kent, on November 25th 1565, and the christening of Robert, son of John Stringman, on June 1st 1710, at Axminster in Devonshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Strangman, which was dated 1327, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk", during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. 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.