Todman

This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval English origin, and is an occupational or a nickname surname for a keen hunter of foxes. Todman is the southern form of the northern name Todhunter, found particularly in Cumberland. The derivation is from the Northern Middle English word "tod(de)", fox, with "-man", man, and the resulting surname is found chiefly in the counties of Sussex, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, although it can also be found in the 19th Century in Lancashire. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. Nicknames were given in the first instance with reverence to occupation, or to a variety of characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities, mental and moral characteristics, supposed resemblance to an animal's or bird's appearance or disposition, and habits of dress. The surname has, unusually, retained its original spelling through the centuries, although there is one variant, William Toodmane, recorded in Sussex in 1598. The marriage between Roger Todman and Margaret Boxholde was recorded on October 6th 1549 at Farnhurst, in Sussex. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Juliana Todman, which was dated 1275, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.