Recorded as Dearn, Dearne, Deirne, Durne and Durn, this is an English and French surname surname. It has two possible origins. It may be derives from the 7th century word "dierne" translating literally as "Hidden river", and literally describing a river in a steep valley, as in the River Dearne in Yorkshire. This was also an area which was once heavily wooded. The name spelling as Durn or Durne is also recorded in France and a coat of arms was granted in that country, although the date is not known. The name recordings include Solomon Deirne, a witness at Christ Church Spitalfields, in the city of London on September 6th 1775, whilst Thomas and Mary Durn were witnesses to their daughter Elizabeth's christening at St. Mary's Church, Lambeth on October 22nd 1809, in the reign of George 111 (1760 - 1820). The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Michaell Dearne, when he married Jone Grey at St. Dunstan's in the East, Stepney, city pof London, on May 2nd 1563. This was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, known as "Good Queen Bess" 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.