Spong - Name

This rare and unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may derive from two possible sources. Firstly, it may be a metonymic occupational name for someone who covered roofs with wooden shingles, from the Olde English word "spon". Alternatively, it may be a topographical name for someone who lived on or near an irregular, narrow projecting part of a field, deriving from the Olde English word "spon", a clip, in the sense of a clip of land. In Norfolk "spong" was sometimes used to describe a wet, boggy place. Topographical names are some of the earliest names to be created, as topographical features, whether natural or man-made, provided obvious and convenient means of identification. Early recordings of the surname in London include the christening of Thomas Spong on February 10th 1638 at St. Brides, Fleet Street and the marriage of George Spong and Elizabeth Robinson on the 10th October, 1694 at St. Jame's, Duke's Place. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard del Spon, which was dated 1376, in the "Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.