This rare name is of German origin and is from a Germanic personal name Ansger, which is composed of the elements 'ans', god and 'ger, gar', a spear, with 'stein', a stone. It is likely that Angerstein is a locational name, perhaps from somewhere near Hannover in Germany, suggested by the second element 'stein', a common second element in placenames, and the occurrence of the first element 'Anger' in other locational names, for example Angermund. This name is not found recorded in England before the latter half of the 18th Century, for example, Juliana Angerstein was christened on June 18th 1772 at St. Peter-le-Poer, and John Angerstein, on November 24th 1773 at St. Benet Fink, London. Both infants were the children of John Julius and Anna Angerstein. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andreas Angerstein, which was dated December 30th 1654, Imbshausen, Hannover, Germany, during the reign of Ferdinand 111, Holy Roman Emperor, 1637 - 1657. 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.