Morando - Meno

This interesting surname with variant spellings Morand, Moranda, Morant, Murrant, Mauran, Maurand, etc., is derived from the old French personal name Moran, Morant, probably coming from the old German Modrannus. It may also be a nickname for a sojourner from the old French demorant, demeurant, present participle of demeurer meaning "to reside" "residing", "staying". The surname dates back to the late 12th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Richard Morant (1200), "The Pipe Rolls of Devonshire", and William Morand (1210), "The Curia Regis Rolls of Sussex". It may also be a dialectal variant of the locational name Miranda from any of the various places so called. London church records include one Peter, son of Clement Morando who was christened on May 17th 1565, his son John who was christened on June 24th 1567 and his daughter Alice who was christened on July 19th 1579 all at St. Mary Woolnoth. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo le Demurant, which was dated 1182, The Pipe Rolls of Kent, during the reign of King Henry 11, "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.