This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant form of the more commonly found locational surname Fulham, from the place so called in Middlesex (now in West London). The place is recorded very early: as "Fuanham" in the "Early Charters of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul" (704 -705); as "Fullanhamm" and "Fullanhomm" in he Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 879 - 880; and as "Fuleham" in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means "Fulla's settlement", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Fulla", thought to be a derivative of "fugol", bird, with "ham", enclosure, settlement. Locational surnames were acquired by the lord of the manor, and local landowners, and were used particularly as a means of identification by those who left their birthplace and settled in another area. Examples of the surname from London Church Registers include the following: Fullham (1570); Follom (1599); Fuliam (1615); Fullum (1686); and Fullem (1689). The marriage of William Fullom and Mary Redinge was recorded at St. Botolph Bishopsgate, on September 17th 1655, and that of Claudius Fullom and Mary Platt at St. Andrew's by the Wardrobe, on February 13th 1765, both in London. The Coat of Arms most associated with the name depicts three gold crescents on a black chevron, on a silver shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Fullam, which was dated December 19th 1565, witness to the christening of his son, Edwarde, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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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