Plain

This is a topographical surname introduced into England by the Normans after the 1066 Invasion but originally a derivation of the Roman (Latin) "Planum". The word means "one who dwelt on a Plateau" as distinct from the Anglo-Saxon "Hamm" which refers to one living on "Low Lying meadows". The original alternative spellings included Plain, Plan, Duplain or Duplan, whilst "Plane" is a Norfolk form found originally only in that county. The name development includes Andrew Plane christened at Field Dalling (Norfolk) in 1564 and Deborah Plain who married Matthew Cruckling at Roydon, Kings Lynn in 1759. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert Plane, which was dated 1273, in the "Cambridge Rolls for East Anglia", during the reign of King Edward 1, 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.