London

Recorded in various spellings all quite rare, and including Laundon, Lewnden, Londean, Londing, London, Londoner, Loyndon, Loynton, Lunden, Lundin, and Lunnon, this surname is of pre medieval origins. It was locational, and usually described a person who left the city of London, and moved somewhere else, and was then named after London or the local spelling equivalent, as identification. This was unusual. Almost everybody went to LOndon because as the legend explained, "The streets were paved with gold". A secondary possible origin is that the name was a nickname for a person who had made a visit to London, and returned home to tell the tale! People in the medieval times did not undertake journeys lightly, with brigands and outlaws everywhere. A visit to the next village could mark a person for life, a visit to London or York, was something very special indeed! London is recorded by the Roman historian, Tacitus, in the years 115 - 117, in its Latinized form of Londinium. Seven hundred years later it is recorded in the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of 839 as "Lundenne". The name is thought to derive from the Celtic element "lond", meaning wild or bold, and as such used either as a personal or a tribal name. Amongst examples of the early church recordings of the name is the marriage of Michaell London and Alice Lifford, at Farnham, Surrey, on August 8th 1568, whilst James Laundon is recorded at St Katherines by the Tower (of London) on January 22nd 1687. The novelist Jack London 1876 - 1916, was the author of the famous book "Call of the Wild". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Leofsi de Lundonia. This was dated 1086, in the famous Domesday Book, during the reign of King William 1st, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087.