This most interesting and unusual name is a rare dialectal variant of the French name "Delarue", composed of the French prefixes "de" and "la", meaning "of the", plus "rue", a French topographical name for someone who lived on a track or pathway (from the Latin word "ruga", to crease or fold). Other variants of this surname include the French names "Larue, Delrue and Desrues". In some cases, the name may be an English variant of the French name "Delrieu", composed of the same initial prefixes as mentioned above, plus the old Provencal word "rieu", a stream, hence the name is a topographical name for a dweller by a stream. Both of these names were introduced into England by French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in the late 16th Century. Simon Delreu, a French Huguenot, was christened on February 12th 1660 at Threadneedle Street., London. Ann Harriet and Elizabeth Sarah, daughter of John and Mary Ann Dilrew were christened on March 21st 1853 and December 23rd 1855 respectively. Coats of Arms were granted to a family called "Delrieu" in the Ille de France, and "Delrue" in Holland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Delarree, a christening witness, which was dated June 8th 1618 St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, during the reign of King James 1st, of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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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