Lowson

This unusual name is a variant form of the surname Lawson, and is found in both England and Scotland. Lowson is a patronymic form of "Low", a pet-name, from the male given name "Lawrence", which was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066 as "Lorens" and "Laurence", and is derived from the Latin "Laurentius", man from Laurentum, a town in Italy named from its laurels or bay trees. The popularity of the name was partly due to the fame of St. Lawrence, a 3rd Century martyr at Rome; certainly the name has generated a wide variety of surnames. In Scotland, the earliest recording of Lowson occurs in 1400, when one Thomas Lowson was admitted burgess of Aberdeen. Recordings from London Church Registers include the marriage of Benjamin Lowson and Edeth Platt on April 6th 1680, at St. James', Duke's Place. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Lowson, which was dated 1381, in the "Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Richard 11, known as "Richard of Bordeaux", 1377 - 1399. 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.