Danjoie

This very unusual surname is of Old French origin, and is believed to be a Burgundy variant of the more familiar and long-established "Danjou", itself a locational name either from the village of Anjou in Isere, a department of the Rhone-Alps region, or from the province of Anjou in north west France (with the fused preposition "de", of). Locational surnames were originally given to local landowners, and the lord of the manor, and especially as a means of identification to those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere. Early recordings of the name include: the marriage of Fulk D'Anjou to Hildebrand De Baugency at Maine-et-Loire, in 1065, and the marriage of Clemence D'Anjou to Louis X, King of France, at Paris, Seine, on August 19th 1315. In the course of time, regional and dialectal differences produced several variations on the original spelling of the name which now appears in the forms: Danjoux, Danjoy, Danjouis and Danjoie. On November 16th 1784, the birth of Jean Baptiste Danjoux was recorded at Becquigny, Aisne, France, and on September 7th 1862, Louisa, daughter of John and Bertha Danjoy, was christened at Horsmonden, Kent. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Fulk D'Anjou, which was dated 1043, in Birth Records of Anjou, Isere, Frace, during the reign of King Henry 1 of France, 1031 - 1060. 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.