Village

This unusual surname is a contradiction in many ways. It appears to be English and to denote one who lived at a "village", but this is not so, the word "village" not appearing in the English language until the late medieval period 15th Century. In fact the name is French and probably "Huguenot", although this is not proven, what is known is that the original spelling was "Villages" and that the name is Provencal in origin, a Coat of Arms being registered in that region. What is also curious is that there do not appear to be any early (Huguenot) recordings in either London or Kent, the earliest registration and the epicentre of the surname seems to be in the Doncaster area of Yorkshire. The word "village" is a developed form of the Latin "villa", and does describe a collection of buildings larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, and it may be that such a place called "Village" actually existed in France. The name recordings in England include: Elizabeth Village, who married Jonathon Sudbury at Cantley, Yorkshire, on December 22nd 1767; and Ann Villiage (as spelt), who married Rubert Ewart at Doncaster, on November 26th 1826, in the reign of George 1V (1820 - 1830). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ruth Village, which was dated January 26th 1757, marriage to James Saul, at Doncaster, Yorkshire, during the reign of King George 11, known as "The Last Soldier King", 1727 - 1760. 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.