Noyce

This most interesting surname is of early medieval English origin, and is a patronymic form of Noy, itself from a medieval English personal name "Noye", a vernacular form of the ancient Hebrew male given name "Noah", which is said to mean "long-lived". According to the Book of Genesis, Noah, having been forewarned by God, built an ark into which he took his family and representatives of every species of animal, and so was saved from the flood that God sent to destroy the world because of human wickedness. This biblical story was an extremely popular subject for miracle plays, and in most cases, therefore, the surname probably derives from a nickname referring to someone who had played the part of Noah in a miracle play or pageant, rather than from a given name. The personal name is recorded as "Noe" in the Staffordshire Chartulary in 1125, while one Thomas filius Noe is mentioned in 1185, in the Records of the Knights Templars in England. The Suffolk Subsidy Rolls record a Simon Noysse in 1327. Robert Noyce married Sarah White on May 17th 1692, at Winterslow, Wiltshire. The Coat of Arms most associated with the name depicts three red carnations, stalked, with green leaves on a silver shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Noysse, which was dated 1327, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.