Vines

This interesting name is a medieval topographical or occupational surname. If the former, it denotes someone who lived near a vineyard, or a prominent vine, and if the latter, the name referred to a vine-dresser, a worker at a vineyard. In either case the derivation of the name is from the old French word "vigne", from the Latin "vinea", which became "vine" in middle English. Vine-growing was of some importance in medieval England, and there are still places named "Vineyards" in Essex and Cambridgeshire, which may be partial sources for the modern surname. The name development includes Roger atte Vine (1296, London) and Richard Vygn (1327, Somerset). Edward Fidler and Hannah Vine were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1740. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Vigne, which was dated 1236, "Book of Fees for Somerset", during the reign of King Henry 111, "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.