Valens-Smith

Doubled barrelled names are the Victorian equivalent of the Olde English pre 7th Cenutry compound, in which its separate sections each have a meaning but not when conjoined. In this case Smith is the single most popular name in the Anglo-Saxon lists. It is job descriptive and originally in Medieval Times would have been prefixed as Naysmith, Leysmith, Swordsmith etc. There being an estimated seventy plus Smith descriptions. Valens is more unusual, it derives from "Walloon" and means a person from that area of Belgium and is probably Huguenot or a Flemish Weaver in origin. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of James Valen. which was dated 1784, Baptised at St. Martins in the Field, London. during the reign of King George III, Father 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.