Every

This is a French locational name which derives from the town of Evreux in Normandy. Alternative surname spellings include Everie, Every, Everest, Everit Everex and Everix. The original name holders are believed to have been followers of the Conqueror in 1066 and recordings such as John Everie, a witness at St. Mary Whitechapel, Stepney in 1677, suggests a possible "second wave" of Huguenot immigration. Nevertheless, the name in its "modern" spellings has held its own for some four hundred years. The recordings include Thomas Everye baptised at Holy Trinity the Less, London in 1595 and William Every, a witness at Southill Church, Bedfordshire on July 25th 1599. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Every, which was dated April 12th 1591, married Elizabeth Ouzely at St. Dunstans, Stepney, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.