Blenkharn

The ancient village of "Blencarn" in Cumberland is the origin of this surname of at least five modern variant spellings. The village name is itself an overlap confusion since both Blen (formerly Ancient British "Blaen") and Carn (formerly "Cairn") have the same meaning of "A hill". The village if not recorded in the Domeday Book (1086) as the Norman "Fief" did not extend so far north. The first recording being in the Court of Fees (Rates or Poll Tax) Register of 1210 in the reign of King John. The surname recordings include Robert Blynkarne of Huntingdon (1547), Mary Blinckhorne (1611), whilst Mary Blinkhorn married William Matthews at St. Mary Magdalene, London on May 30th 1713. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Blenkarn, which was dated 1429, in the Friary Register of York, during the reign of King Henry V1, known as "The Founder of Eton College", 1422 - 1461. 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.