Voller

This most interesting surname is of Old French and Anglo-Saxon origin. It is an occupational name for a "fuller of cloth", a person who scours and thickens raw cloth by beating it in water and trampling on it. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "fullere", Old French "fouleor, foleur", a dresser or fuller of cloth. In the modern idiom variants of the surnames include Fullers and Vollers, the former found in England and France, while Voller is also found in the Netherlands as De Voller. Voller is particularly widespread in the South of England. The surname first appears in the early 13th Century (see below), while other early examples of the surname include Reginald Fullere in Suffolk, in 1221, according to the Book of Ely; William le Fulur recorded in 1221 in the Assize Court Rolls of Warwickshire; and Simon le Voller listed in 1316 in Oxford, according to the Cartulary of Oseney Abbey. John Voller married Elizabeth Newman, on August 3rd 1600, at Headley in Hampshire, while Jan Voller married Judikje Bakker, on June 23rd 1754, at Alkmaar, Noord, Holland. A Coat of Arms was granted to a family of the name, which depicts six green holly leaves on a silver shield, with a Crest containing a silver demi antelope with a red collar. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Fulur, which was dated 1219, in the "Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "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.