This is apparently a locational name for one who resided in a "dael", the Olde English word for a valley, from the pre 6th Century A.D. It is, however, curious that the first known recording (see below) is from East Anglia, a flat region, not normally associated with "valleys" at all. This suggests another possible meaning, the name being a development of "Dealla", an early personal name which is also found in village names such as Dalling in Norfolk, "the tribe (ing) of the Dealla's, or Dallington (Suffolk), "the hamlet (ton) of the Dealla tribe, both being Anglo-Saxon names of the 8th Century. This would suggest that Dal(l)man translates as "the friend "man(n)" of Dealla", as an alternative to "a man from the Dales". The twist in this research is that the first known spelling as Dal(l)man is from Yorkshire, Robertus Dalman being recorded in the Poll Tax records of that county in 1379. Finally, Dal(l)man can also be confused with Dolman, "a dweller by the parish boundary mark"; Alexander Doman also being recorded in Yorkshire in 1377. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugh Daleman, which was dated 1327, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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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