Fellow

Recorded as Fallow, Fallows, Fallu, Falou, Fellow, Fellows, Fellowes, Felloe, Fellos, Fellus, Folloo, Follos, and others, this is an ancient English surname. It is ultimately of Norse-Viking origins and was probably introduced into both England and France in the 7th century. It derives from the word "felagi", meaning a partner or companion, and as a surname was first recorded in England in the 12th century. This to all intents and purposes, was at the very begining of surnames as we know them today. The early recordings include Walter Felagh in the Assize Court rolls of Northumberland in 1256, and Robert le Felagh in the Subsidy Tax rolls of Sussex in 1327. The final "s" when added to the name is a reduced form of "son of ". Examples of the surname recordings taken at random from surviving church registers include Hellen Fallows at St Margarets Westminster, on July 10th 1552, Florentia Fellowes who married Nicholas Lovell at St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on June 9th 1598, Eleazer Falou who was a Huguenot refugee at Threadneedle Street French church, on May 1st 1689, and John Follos, christened at St Sepulchre church in the city of London on March 9th 1755. Sir Charles Fellows (1799 - 1860), discovered no less than thirteen ancient cities in Lycia. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Felawe. This was dated 1150 a.d., in the "Catalogue of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield", Staffordshire, during the reign of King Stephen of England, 1135 - 1154. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.