This interesting and unusual surname is of Norman origin, introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. Firstly it may derive from the medieval given name "Fleuri", from the Old French "flur", Middle English "flo(u)r", flower. This was also a conventional term of endearment in medieval romantic poetry, and was the name borne by a 3rd century saint martyred in Nicomedia under Decius. The surname may also be a French locational name from any of the various places in northern France which get their names rom the Gallo-Roman personal name "Florus", with the local suffix "acum". Finally, the surname may have derived from the Old French "fluri", flowered, variegated, and would have been a nickname denoting someone who dressed in an extravagant mixture of colours. The surname is first recorded in the early 13th century (see below) and can also be found as Fleury, Flory and Flury. John Flory is listed in the 1230 Pipe Rolls of Norfolk, and Giles Florey is noted in the Feet of Fines of Essex (1295). Recordings of the surname from London Church Registers include: Wollston, son of Edward Flory, who was christened on April 5th 1583 at St. Lawrence Jewry, Milk Street; John Flory, who married Alice Bright on October 7th 1587 at St. Andrews by the Wardrobe; and Elizabeth Flory, who married Richard Powell on October 5th 1595 at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate. A Coat of Arms granted to the Flory family is a blue shield with a silver crescent between three silver fleur-de-lis, seeded gold. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ranulf de Flury (witness), which was dated 1201, in the "Assize Court Rolls of Somerset", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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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