Trenaman

Recorded in several spellings including Trenaman and Treneman, this is believed to be a surname of continental origins. It would not seem to be recorded in England before the late 18th Century, although thereafter it appears in a wide variety of spellings. There would seem to be at least two possible options. The first is that it is of Breton Huguenot origin, the modern spellings being an anglicization of the French Tremonsois or Tremagny, both villages in Brittany, or that it is a variant of the Cornish surname Tremenheer. Neither of these origins are proven nor in either case is there any sort of link recordings that we have been able to find. Examples of the surname rcordings taken from the registers of the diocese of Greater London include Eliza Trennamen recorded at St. Nicholas church, Deptford, county of Kent, in 1803, and George Treneman who married Elizabeth Parker at St. Pancras, Old Church, in the city of London, on May 27, 1858. An earlier example is that of Sarah Trennaman. This was dated June 1st 1776, when she married John Osbourne at St. Anne's church, Soho, Westminster, during the reign of King George III, known as "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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.