This unusual and interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "domung", meaning "judgement", itself deriving from "dom", meaning "doom", and "dema", a judge. While "Domung" was originally found as a personal name, it could also have been job-descriptive for a chief or village elder in the period before the Norman Conquest of 1066. Pre 7th Century Anglo-Saxon, and Norse baptismal names were usually distinctive compounds whose elements were often associated with the Gods of Fire, Water and War, or composed of disparate elements. Whereas job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. The surname development since 1246 (see below) includes: Richard le Demur (1301, Staffordshire); John Domyng (1351, Essex); and Alan Demur, who was recorded on the Judges List of Staffordshire, circa 1250, whilst much later, Hannah Deeming was baptised at All Saints Church, Wakefield, on December 1st 1791. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Reginald Demung, which was dated 1246, in the "List of Seal Holders of Warwickshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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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