This interesting surname derives from the Germanic personal name "Albodo", composed of the elements "adal" meaning noble plus "bodo" a messenger. This name was introduced into England by the Normans, "Albodo" (without surname) is recorded in the "Cartularium monasterii de Rameseia" (1114) and the given name "Ailbodus" appears in the documents relating to the Danelaw, Lincolnshire (1155). The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 13th Century, (see below). One, Symon Albod, is noted in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire (1275). In the modern idiom the surname has four variant spellings, Albut, Albutt, Allbut and Allbutt. Recordings of the surname from the London Church registers include; John, son of Barnaby and Hannah Albutt, who was christened on May 22nd 1728, at St. Giles, Cripplegate; on August 26th 1761, Sarah Allbut married Joseph Haddock, at St. George Mayfair, Westminster; Elizabeth Allbutt married William MacDanad, on September 13th 1763, at St. James, Westminster; and on January 7th 1782. Anthony Albut married Jane Baily, at St. Anne Soho, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Albot, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Devonshire", 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.