The development of this interesting name is believed to be from 'Faer - tun' (pre 7th Century Olde English) 'farm amongst the ferns' to 'fathun' (circa 1300) to Faithorn or Faythorn (1600). The town of Fareham in Hampshire was originally 'Fere - ham', also meaning 'the farm in the ferns', quite why these spelling changes occur is a mystery, but one usually explained by local dialects and pronunciation being 'adopted' by unskilled or possibly, French speaking Clerics and Clerks, with subsequent variant spellings. In this case the name recordings include Danyell Faythern, witness at Stepney (1616) and Sarah Faithorn, christened at St. Mary's Church, Portsea, Hampshire on November 22nd 1719. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Faithorne, which was dated 1615, christened at St. Mary, Whitechapel, London, on October 9th, during the reign of King James I of England and VI 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.