Although this name appears as early as Elizabethan times in its present spelling, its origins are probably Norman and certainly Medieval. It is locational and derives from 'de l'eau' - the dweller by the water one Henry del Ewe being recorded in the Hundred Rolls for Oseney in Oxfordshire in 1250 A.D.. However the name is also 'Huguenot', a second wave of Dellows or Dillows being recorded in the 18th Century, an example being one Benjamin Dilleau, a witness at Spitalfields Christchurch, on December 19th 1755. Other spellings include Dillow (1679, Clerkenwell), Dillo (1714, Westminster) and Dilew (1820). Whilst a Joone Dyllowe was recorded in London in 1584. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joane Dillow, which was dated August 24th 1589, christened at St. Botolphs Church, Aldergate, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, 'Good Queen Bess', 1558 - 1603. 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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