Worman - Name

This interesting name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "weorc" meaning "work", plus "mann", a man and was a medieval job descriptive term for a skilled worker or artisan. The following quotation from "Promptorium Parvulorum" (Medieval Dictionary) reads "Werkemanne, thay an werk wyth both handys a lyke, - Ambidexter",suggesting that the term may originally have been applied as a nickname to an ambidextrous person. The surname is first recorded in the early 13th Century, (see below). The spellings le Werkman, le Worcman and Workman appear in 1236, 1273 and 1307 respectively, the form Worman is more recent. On September 28, 1634 one, Nancy Worman married a Robert Wornham in All Saints, Kingston upon Thames. (Marriage Records of Surrey). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adwordus Wercman. which was dated 1214 "Cartulary of the Priory of st. Gregory", Kent. during the reign of King John, Nickname Lackland 1199 - 1216. 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.