This unusual name is a variant spelling of the Olde English "dollyng" a nickname for an honest person, one who was uncomplicated and "Straight". The name is recorded both as Dolling and Dowling, the latter also occuring in Ireland as O'Dowling, translating as "The son of the descendant of the challenger". The name development includes Peter Dollyng, recorded in Worcester in 1275, Edmund Dowling, 1674, The Hearth Tax Rolls of Suffolk, Cornelius Dolling christened at St. Mary le Bone, in 1765 and George Dolling who was recorded at St. Dunstans Stepney, London in March 1842. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Dolling (witness), which was dated 1243, in the "Pipe Rolls of Somerset", 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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