This most interesting and unusual name, which is very rare, is one of that group of surnames originating from French placenames that now survive as modern English surnames. This particular name derives from "Gerponville" in Seine-Inferieure (now Seine-Maritime) in Normandy. The surname was first recorded as "Jarville" and "Charville" in the mid 13th Century (see below). Locational names were originally given to the lord of the manor, or as a means of identification to those who left their place of birth; the name itself was probably introduced into England in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of 1066. This was also the origin of "Gerpins" in Rainham (Essex) and of the rare surnames Charpin, Sharpin, Sharvell and Sharvill, as well as Sharville. One John de Cherville is recorded in 1302 in the Petre Documents, while William Jerpeville is mentioned in 1327 in the Subsidy Rolls of Essex. John Charvell is noted in 1522 in the Petre Documents. Margaret Shurvill was christened on June 12th 1685 at St. Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate, London, while Francis Shurville married Frances Bartholomew on September 28th 1865 at Dorking in Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Jarpenville, which was dated 1258, in the "Placenames of Essex", 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.

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