This is a Danish-Viking locational name from the 8th century originally spelt 'Klint' and meaning 'one resident on a hill' or a former inhabitant of the village of Clint, near Harrogate in North Yorkshire. The village name is first recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire for the year 1230 AD in the reign of Henry III as Clint although 150 years later it is Clynt and in 1632 it has become Clente in London. However it is recorded that in 1783 Timothy Clint married Mary Davies at St. Georges Church, Hanover Square, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Cecillia de Clynt. which was dated 1379 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls. during the reign of King Richard II 'Richard of Bordeaux' 1378-1399 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.