This interesting surname is of Scottish origin, and is locational from two places in Scotland, Fullerton in Ayrshire and Foulertoun in Forfar. The placenames are derived from the Old English pre 7th Century 'fuglere', bird-catcher and 'tun', enclosure, settlement, thus 'the settlement of the bird-catchers'. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The name development since 1280 (see below) includes the following: Ade de Foulerton (1329, Glenkill), Rankin de Fowlartoun (1429, Ayrshire) and Johannes de Foulartoun (1487, Glasgow). The modern surname can be found as Fullerton, Fullarton and Foulerton. The Alanus de Fowlertoun mentioned below founded and endowed out of his lands a convent of Carmelite or White Friars at Irvine. Among the sample recordings in Scotland is the marriage of Alexander Fullerton and Marion Muir on October 3rd 1644 at Glasgow, Lanarkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alanus de Fowlertoun, which was dated circa 1280, Irvine, Strathclyde, Scotland, during the reign of King Alexander 111 of Scotland, 1249 - 1286. 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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