Mound

This interesting surname, recorded in English Church Registers from the mid 16th Century under the variant spellings Mount, Mounte, Mound, Month, Monde, etc., is either of Anglo-Saxon, or Norman origin, and is a topographical name from residence on or near a hill. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "munt", Olde French "mont", a hill, and the surname first appears on record at the beginning of the 14th Century (see below). In 1339 one, Alan atte Mount was noted in the Close Rolls of London. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided easily recognisable distinguishing names in the small communities of the Middle Ages. On July 16th 1665 Elizabeth Mound and Edward Johnson were married in St. James' Church, Duke's Place, London. The Coat of Arms most associated with the name depicts a red lion rampant crowned with gold on a green mount, all on a silver shield. A leaping fox supporting the notched trunk of a tree proper is on the Crest. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard del Mount which was dated 1301, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.