Last name: Bateman
One of the most popular personal names which later was "borrowed" as a surname was Bartholomew. The ancient Greek and Hebrew word meaning "one abounding in furrows", i.e., "a farmer". The name was particularly popular with the Crusaders, but the main development of the name was associated with St. Bartholomew, and came with the 1066 Norman Conquest. The modern spellings of Bateman, Batman, Battman and Baitman translates as "the friend or servant of Bart". Bathemans de Stanford being a 1222 recording, whilst the surname development includes: William Bateman, of Worcester, in 1275, and John Baytman, of Yorkshire, in 1553. Recordings of the surname from London Church Registers include: Amos, son of William Bateman, who was christened on September 6th 1562, at St. Andrew Undershaft; the marriage of Agnes Bateman and Lawrence Morris which took place on May 15th 1574, at St. Nicholas Acons; and Abraham, son of John Bateman, who was christened on June 14th 1584, at St. Botolph without Aldgate. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander Bateman, which was dated 1260, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Chester", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.
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