Warman

Romantically, this very interesting English medieval surname would suggest a one man army, but this is almost certainly not the case! The name derives either from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Waermund", consisting of the elements "waer", meaning "faith", and "mund", protector (Protector of the Faith), or from the Olde English "waru" meaning "goods", plus "mann", a merchant, in effect one who sold "wares". The nearest modern equivalent would be a draper or haberdasher. The surname, perhaps not surprisingly, is very early, and one of the first "proven" occupational names. In addition to the first recording (below), other examples include Richard Wareman of Northampton in 1263, John Waremund in the 1275 Hundred Rolls of Berkshire, and William Warman of London in 1330. Later recordings include William Warman who married Alice Smythe at Therfield, Hertfordshire, on July 25th 1595, although earlier, on May 30th 1562, Agnes Wareman was christened at Kelsall, parents not recorded. On November 27th 1681, Eliza Warman married a John Squire at St. James' Church, Dukes Place, London, in the reign of Charles 11 (1660 - 1685). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry Wareman, which was dated 1214, in the "Curia Regis Rolls of Northampton", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.